


Angel's seal

by Dreamillusions



Series: Sealed Angels [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angels are Dicks, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood and Violence, Childhood Memories, Comatose Dean, Daniel and Michael look like Dean!, Dean Has Nightmares, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fighting, Flashbacks, Hospitalization, Hurt!Cas, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Mature Themes (Mentioned), My Own Universe, Natural Disasters, Nightmares, OOC Sam, Poor Dean, Reincarnation, Supernatural Elements, Temporary Amnesia, Vessels, Zachriach being killed the usual way, hurt!Dean, i torture him too much..., kind of... i think, slight homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-23
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-01-13 13:30:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 74,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1228177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamillusions/pseuds/Dreamillusions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Highschool!Verse. Dean and Castiel meets at school and are slowly falling for each other. But they don't know that everything they knew would soon be changed for good.<br/>beta: Berny, my amazing friend.<br/>i'll just add tags as the story goes, to keep the spoilers to the minimum ;p</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> anyway, i am pleased to announce of the opening chapter for 'Angel's Seal'.
> 
> i want to thank so dearly to my friend - 'Berny'. she is my beta and the most amazing person you can ever find. she's basically my collab with how much she had helped me, (although i wrote everything before showing her ;p). i don't know what where i would have been if it wasn't for her, probably crash and burn *jessrefrenceyay*.
> 
> disclaimer: i do not own spn, sadly. it's kripke. if it was mine, dean and cas would have at least acknowledged their real "profound bond" to each other and to us *grinning*.
> 
> please read and comment, i really need to know how good this story is.

Castiel was nervous. After all, it was his first day in a school at a different state. They had moved from New York to Lawrence, Kansas. He seriously didn't understand why his father had decided to move precisely here, but he couldn't argue much with him, seeing his mother's death was still fresh in his mind although it really has been ten years since that incident.

Chuck couldn't stay in their house anymore, every place reminding him of his late wife, Becky Shurley. His father had friends in Kansas that they could stay with while waiting for their new house to be finished. Chuck had been going on about visiting them, anyway. The Singers were welcoming although it took him a while to understand since Robert Singer, or Bobby, as he asked to be called, was grumpy and called him an 'idjit' all the time. In the end, Castiel understood it was his way of showing that he cared because he wasn't so good with letting his feelings out.

His father was getting rather well and resumed his job as a writer, continuing his original story now that he had some inspiration. Castiel was glad for his father, he really was, even if his face showed otherwise. Who could really blame him? he was standing before a day that would determine his future at the school – would he be popular? a middle-class? or a loser, being picked upon and hated, like what he had read in books. He sighed. He really wished he could stay at home, like he did up until now. It's not like he didn't want to be with people his age, but he didn't think it was the right time… he didn't know how to react with people and he will most likely end up as the weird kid no one talks to but too afraid to pick on.

"Relax, son. You'll do just fine," Chuck reassured his child before dropping him off on front of the gates of the school. Castiel smiled but still nibbled his lower lip and bit the inside of his cheek nervously.

* * *

Dean sighed as his brother pestered the hell out of him to get to the car.

"We are gonna be late and it's only the first day of school," Sammy whined.

"Fine,  **fine**! Just shut your cake-hole, Sammy, or I swear to god I'm gonna punch ya in the face!" Dean took his bag and headed down, not forgetting to lock the door behind him.

* * *

"Class, we have a new student that came from New York to here. He was home-schooled until this year, so please greet him warmly," Mrs. Milton placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "Would you like to greet the class, Mr. Shurley?" she smiled at him and he grimaced.

"U-um… my name is Castiel Shurley, it's very nice to meet you." The class murmured 'Nice to meet'cha' back at him.

"Very well, you can sit on the table next to Winchester there," she pointed at the back of the room, where an empty table stood beside a table occupied by a male who was looking outside the window, not paying attention to what was happening in the class.

He sat down and peered at the student next to him; he had short dark blond hair and a tan, but he couldn't see his face because he was looking away.

He cleared his throat. Why did people have to be so hard? "Um… hello?"

No answer. The boy kept looking out of the window. Castiel felt a bit annoyed by that and poked the boy in the shoulder.

The reaction he got was unexpected.

The boy jumped so high in his chair, Castiel thought that he flew for a moment. Then the boy tried to calm himself down and sent a glare at him, but Castiel was far from feeling threatened.

In fact, he was mesmerized.

He was looking into very green eyes and the fire in them just made them look more alive than anything he ever saw. The boy obviously thought he was ignoring him because he started looking back outside the window.

Castiel huffed and decided to get the boy's attention in a different way, something he read about in one of his books. He took out a little note and scribbled something on it before slipping it onto the other's table.

The boy looked at it and then at him suspiciously, who stared back with pleading eyes, until he sighed and opened the note. He read it and then smiled amusingly. He wrote on it and gave it back to him. Castiel was thrilled and looked down at the note with a smile.

* * *

Dean was physically present in the class but mentally? He was absent. He was tired from his job at the Singer Salvage Yard and though he wouldn't admit it, he dreaded school. He knew he wasn't going to be anything better than a mechanic, unlike his genius/geeky brother, but Bobby threatened to fire him if he failed highschool. Unfortunately, he can't find another job fast enough, so he had to grudgingly agree and actually  _work_.

He was so into his thoughts that when someone touched his shoulder, he jumped and swore that his heart just went up to his throat. He turned his glare at the offender, finding himself looking into big blue eyes. After a few moments, when he noticed they were looking a bit glazed – was he being ignored? – He decided to look back outside the window, already annoyed by the boy next to him.

Now that he thought about it, he had never seen him before. Was he new? He felt a paper slide into his desk and he looked at the teen warily and saw him staring back with puppy eyes so similar to his brother's, so he sighed, knowing he can't win and opened the note.

' ** _Hello, my name is Castiel Shurley. I'm new and apparently I'm going to sit next to you for this class. What's your name? It's very nice to meet you._** '

He amusingly smiled for a bit, chuckling inwardly at Castiel's proper writing, and wrote ' ** _Right back at u, man. Name's Dean Winchester, like the gun. I live here all my life, what bout u?_** ' back and sled it back to Castiel, who looked happy and enthusiastically as he read Dean's response, grinning at the writing.

Castiel felt as if he already won a friend and wrote back ' ** _I was home schooled until last year, then I moved here with my father and stayed for a few days with the Singers. They're very good people, and I found out I have quite an addiction to Mrs. Singer's pies._** '

Dean chuckled to himself and wrote ' ** _U_** ** _know the old man? Now u're my kind of a guy, Karen's got the best pies I've ever eaten in a long time. Want 2 go after school and grab some? I need to get there anyway._** '

Castiel's face lit up and he scribbled fast a ' ** _Yes, I would love to_** ' and saw Dean's face turn into a big smile. Dean gave him the thumbs up before turning to the teacher and scribbling some notes. Castiel then noticed that he had missed half of the class with trying to talk and talking to Dean and blushed in shame, returning to the teacher and writing notes fast as well.

* * *

_After school..._

"Hey, Cas!" Dean slapped his back, making Castiel jump and turn to him in surprise.

"Cas?"

"Yep, is that a problem?" Dean licked his lips nervously. Really? That's his first response? What the hell is wrong with him?

"Oh, no, no, no," Castiel shook his head and smiled at the taller teen. "I just wasn't called that way in a long time."

"I see… I'm sorry," What is he apologizing for? Dean was getting confused at his own responses.

"No need to, Dean, I'm glad that you see me as a friend," He patted his shoulder and Dean smiled broadly, wrapping his arm around his shoulders, pulling him close.

Oh, well, might as well go with it.

"Well, chick flicky as it is, I'm glad to have a friend as well. Are we going to grab some heaven-made pies?" He winked.

The shorter man nodded and Dean led him to the parking lot, then to a big, sleek, black car. Dean released him and patted the hood of the car affectionately, "Cas, meet my baby, the best car ever. Baby, this is Cas, my friend."

Castiel smiled warmly and let Dean open the passenger door for him. He sled into it, enjoying the new-looking car, although he doubted it was any younger than twenty years.

"This is a 67' Chevrolet Impala, and my pride," Dean switched on the gas and AC/DC blasted through the speakers. Castiel winced at the volume and Dean looked sheepish when he turned it down a bit. Castiel relaxed and leaned into the seat. He looked at his new friend, who looked content and his gaze softened.

* * *

They pulled by the Singer Salvage Yard and got out of the car with Dean looking excited, hopping to the entrance door. Castiel couldn't help but be pulled into his excitement as he followed his friend. Dean knocked twice and the door opened to reveal an old lady with kind eyes and graying hair. She was wearing a yellow sundress and a white apron.  
"My, my, I never knew you two knew each other. You could've told me so," She let them inside and led them to the table in the kitchen.

"Well, Cas and I just met, ma'am," Dean shyly mumbled when they had sat down. Castiel peered at him and saw him shifting a bit uncomfortably in his seat.

Karen's eyes softened and she ruffled his hair a bit before going to the oven and taking out a freshly baked apple-pie, "Well then, I'm glad you've met and became good friends, dears. Have some pie, I know how much you love pie, Dean."

Said boy blushed slightly and took a bite from the steaming pie. His eyes lit up and he happily moaned as he munched on it. Castiel felt his face go a bit red when he heard the sound and Karen noticed that. She chuckled and smacked the moaning teen with her spatula and scolded him for embarrassing his friend. Dean pouted and glared at him like he was to blame for his predicament. Which made Castiel feel guilty and look down, but then he felt Dean patting his head. "Dude, I'm not really blaming you for this woman's actions, I was just kidding. No need to feel guilty, Cas."

"It's okay, Dean, I should have known. I'm not… really good with 'people skills'."

Dean laughed, "Well, I can help you there, if you want to."

Castiel smiled and took a bite while nodding to the mischievous teen. The pie was heavenly good and he felt his mind relax into the warmth filling his body. He and Dean started chatting about everything and Castiel told him about things he studied at home and some interesting stuff he had found out. Dean listened and added some of his insight or knowledge, not once seeming to get bored or annoyed.

* * *

Karen left them alone and exited the room, happy that the two teens are friends. They were two tragedies coming together and she wanted them to be happy, so she was glad they could help each other. She saw her husband by their bedroom and went to him, hugging him.

"Are those idjits done killing each'other yet?" Despite his harsh tone, his eyes were warm and concern swam in them. Karen smiled and looked in the direction of the kitchen, "I'm sure that everything will be better. They deserve it."

* * *

"Give it back, Dean!" Castiel tried to pry the fork from Dean's fingers, pouting.

"No way! I want the last piece!" Said boy laughed. Castiel pleaded with his eyes, making them wider and sadder and Dean seemed to crumble under the gaze. At the end he sighed and gave him the fork back and his mouth turned into a smirk when the teen turned gleeful and smiled broadly at him. "Thank you, Dean."

"Shut up, Cas. Damn you, having the same puppy-eyes like my bro," Dean blushed and glared.

"You have a brother?"

Dean nodded, brimming with pride, "Younger brother. His name is Sammy and he's tiny like a bean. What 'bout ya?"

"I'm an only child, but my father loves me very much and is almost like my best friend."

"I see," Dean knew not to pry about his mother, knowing that they are things not to talk about. "Well, Sammy is like my best friend also, besides you."

"You consider me your best friend?" His eyes grew in awe and Dean nodded. "But we only know each other for a day."

"Really?" Dean said in a sarcastic tone and scowled. "Gotta problem with that?"

"No, of course not, but according to the books-"

"What books?" He quirked his eyebrow in confusion.

"Books about how to be a friend," Castiel said tonelessly. Dean facepalmed, "Dude, you don't need those stupid books, you don't  _need_  to learn to be a friend."

"But I don't know how to act around people!" Castiel whined.

"Just be yourself, man. Are you telling me that everything you did today was according to the books?" Dean looked at him in disbelief, almost as if he was hurt by the thought, which was ridiculous.

Castiel shook his head, "I didn't know what to do and I didn't have the books with me, so I just did what I did, I'm sorry if it wasn't good-"

"Would you shut it, Cas? Just be yourself and that's the only damn thing you need to know. I know that despite not being a great friend myself," Dean admitted sheepishly.

"Why would you say that? You are a great friend to me and you are nice and don't fake anything when you talk to me and you are kind and you're the best thing that has ever happened to me and… and I am honored to be your best friend," Castiel spluttered, flushing. He peered cautiously at the boy before him and was happy to see Dean with such an awed face, it was like no one had ever told him that. Then he got worried because tears dripped from the green eyes, "Dean? Did I say something wrong?"

Dean wiped his eyes and looked surprised to see tears on them. He wiped his cheeks, but more tears fell and he angrily rubbed on them. Castiel stood up and went to him, wrapping him in a hug, embracing him into his chest. Dean tried to struggle out of the embrace, but gave up and clutched his shirt.

Castiel was lost. What happened to him? "What's wrong, Dean?"

Dean shook his head, still clutching and muttering into his shirt, "Oh god, thank you."

"What did I say?"

"Th-that was the nicest thing I had ever heard, I-I never thought I would deserve such kind words from someone. It's my entire fault, I can't deserve that," He spluttered and mumbled unintelligible words. Castiel could only make out 'my fault' and 'don't deserve'.

"Dean, you deserve every good thing coming to you, how can you say that about yourself? Who could have made you think so low about yourself?" Castiel was shocked about the level of self-loathing the teen possessed.

"I'm not… I couldn't…" Dean stopped tearing up, and was left sniffling, currently trying to get his act together. He backed away from his friend and looked away, "Let's forget about what just happened, okay?"

"Why should I forget, Dean?" Castiel frowned.

"I think Karen had put something in my pie. I feel like I just grew a vagina," He ignored the question and tried to joke. To forget his slip. "It's nothing important."

"Don't worry, you need to let it out if you want to heal," Castiel reassured him.

"How would you know?" Dean didn't sound accusing but rather curious.

"I had that same predicament ten years ago, when my mother died," Castiel admitted and Dean patted his back.

"'m sorry, I didn't know."

"We've only known each other for a day, Dean. There was no way for you to know, it's not like you're a psychic or anything, right?"

Dean chuckled. "Can't believe it was only a day, huh? I feel like I've known you for ages."

Castiel replied chuckling as well, "That's true. Maybe we met in some other reincarnation before."

"That would be hilarious," Dean made a funny look and tried to mimic a British accent very poorly. "Hello, Mr. Shurley, I met you a century ago. You stole my girl and now I am back for revenge."

Castiel laughed, "And you stole my car fifty years ago, Mr. Winchester. I think you had your revenge."

"But now I have both my girl and car as the impala, so I win," Dean winked, and Castiel rolled his eyes. "Whatever makes you sleep better at night," He smirked, making Dean pout at him.

"Are you boys hungry for dinner?" Karen's voice made them jump. Dean and Castiel looked at each other and fell down laughing, holding their sides, their eyes tearing up.

"Did I interrupt something?" Mrs. Singer tilted her head at them, only making them laugh harder. She shook her head, but inwardly smiled.

When Dean calmed down, he shook his head, "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I have to go home and fix some dinner for Sammy."

"I see, just let me give you some pie for dessert," She went for the counter, and after a few minutes handed him a box, "Send my regards to your little brother."

"Consider that done," Dean saluted and turned to Castiel. "See you tomorrow at school?"

Castiel nodded, "I had fun today, Dean. Good night."

"I had fun as well, Cas. Bye bye," He exited the room and rushed to the car.

Castiel bowed his head to Karen, "Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Singer and good night."

"He is a good child," she smiled and at his confused face she continued, "You two are so polite to old people like me. Please promise me you'll look after him, Castiel. He's very lonely and even though he won't admit it, he needs someone like you."

"Don't worry, I will. He is my friend after all." Castiel bid her goodbye and went home, smiling to himself.


	2. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i guess you really want to get to the plot, but i really want to get through dean's and cas' relationship, just to give them a bit of a happy times before everything starts. it a slow built, i guess. so have it and do please comment, i love it when people do it.

For the next several weeks, Dean and Castiel met each other a lot during school time, given that they had five classes together and had the same lunch period. They forged a deep – though Castiel liked to think it was more than that, that it was profound – friendship and went to the Singers almost every day. It was either for a bite of Karen's delicious pie, because Dean was shameless about worshiping her baking skills, or for Castiel to simply watch Dean work, learning a thing or two himself on how to take care of cars. Castiel was clueless when it to vehicles in general, but he enjoyed being with Dean. Dean was a great man. He was smart and he was kind – but best of all? He was his best friend. They would talk about anything and everything. Castiel would go to him when his father would become solemn and drink too much again.

On the first time he came over, Dean introduced his little brother to him.

Sam was very interesting. He also was very smart, although in a different way than Dean (Dean told him that Sam was a nerd. But he would always ruffle his brother's hair while saying that, so Castiel guessed it means something good), and he was kind of shy. He took great likening to Castiel right from their first meeting and took it upon himself to show him the wonders of very old computers, seeing that he didn't have one himself. Dean would always look at them from the doorstep and smile to himself, glad to see his two closest people becoming great friends.

Castiel and Dean would sometimes go out to someplace random to hang out and have fun in their own teenager ways. They would go for a short road trip until they would come across a nice place. They would stay there until the stars will come out, all bright and twinkling against the dark canvas of the dark night sky, and they will gaze at them for hours.

For some reason, Chuck took a weird fascination with Dean and his life. Usually, that would only make Dean close himself up and Castiel had to sooth him out of it and then scold his father for being so insensitive.

* * *

One day, Chuck asked Castiel to come to his office. Castiel knocked on the door before entering and sitting in front of the desk, across where his father sat, writing something.

"Did you want me, Father?" Castiel cautiously asked. He had a vague idea of what his father wanted and he doesn't think that he likes it.

"I want to tell you about your school," Chuck smiled and took out a letter. "Your teachers are very impressed and I'm very proud of your achievements."

"Thank you, father. Did you want something else?" Castiel was a bit taken aback. That can't be the only reason his father wanted to see him.

"Can't I see my favorite son sometimes? Being an author is so hard and I need distraction like my beloved son," his father whined.

"I'm your  _only_  son," He sighed. Yes, that was definitely more like his father.

Chuck sighed and nodded. "I want to ask about your friend. Dean wasn't it?"

"There's nothing wrong with Dean!" He immediately went to his friend's defense. "He's a great friend and nothing would stop me from seeing him. Not even you, father."

"Relax, I'm not going to deny you anything," His father raised his hands in defeat. "I just wanted to ask if you could bring him for a Sunday meal. I'm thinking of cooking for the both of you. For once, instead of you. What do you think?"

Castiel narrowed his eyes, but decided that his father was sincere enough so he agreed. "Fine, but no more questions about his family except Sam, okay?"

"As you say, dear."

"Good, I'm going to call and ask him," Castiel exited the room and Chuck sighed, taking off his glasses and massaging his nose bridge.

"There is something weird going on here… I just hope it won't harm my boy. Please protect him, God."

* * *

Castiel slammed the door to his room and hopped on the bed, taking out his cell phone and dialed Dean's home number, Dean didn't give him his cell phone, preferring to use the land-line.

" _Hello?_ " Dean's sleepy voice echoed through the phone.

"Hi, Dean, it's Castiel."

" _Oh, Cas! What's up, man?_ " His voice perked up as if he never was tired.

"Did I wake you up or something?" Castiel bit his lip in, feeling slightly guilty.

" _What? Nah, I was just tired from Sammy's bitchy whining,_ " A small voice protesting was suddenly heard in the background and Castiel bit on a smirk. " _Sorry about my stupid brother, Cas. He was whining because he can't get to speak to my awesome friend._ "

Castiel blushed. "Thank you, Dean."

" _Nah, my pleasure, my brother is fun to annoy anyway. What did you want, though?_ "

"Oh, right. My father wanted to invite you for Sunday lunch, he'll cook."

" _You mean your weird as ass father who can't stop trying to ask me about my family?_ " Dean sighed.

"I do admit he's somewhat weird but please don't talk like that about my father," Castiel scolded him.

" _Sorry, my bad, won't do that again. So this Sunday?_ "

"Yes."

" _Sure, why not? I'll just tell Sammy to go to that girl, Jessica's house. I think he has a crush on her, anyway,_ " Dean was in his teasing mood, and you could hear Sam spluttering something about not having any crush on anyone. And Dean shouted at him, mindful enough to move his mouth away from the phone, ' _Yeah right, I believe you Samantha,_ " He returned to Castiel and mockingly swooned," _My boy is growing up._ '

Castiel laughed. "I guess I should get ready for a wedding very soon."

" _Cas, not you, too!_ " Sam whined and he could imagine him frowning and folding his arms, sitting by the table, trying to ignore their conversation but couldn't.

Now that he was thinking about it, why couldn't their parents keep an eye on Sam? Where are they anyway? Maybe they were away overseas? He decided not to ask seeing it was a sensitive issue for the Winchesters.

* * *

Castiel was shifting nervously in his seat. It was Sunday and they had just returned from Church and were waiting for Dean to arrive. Chuck was eyeing him, chuckling every then and now.

"Do you think he'll come?" Castiel couldn't handle the tension coiling in his stomach.

His father smiled and patted his head. "I'm sure he will. After all, he's your best frie–"

A knock was heard from the front door.

" –ah, speak of the devil," Chuck clasped his hands.

"Dean is not the devil," Castiel rose up and walked away.

Chuck chuckled. "That's an expression, dear."

Castiel ignored him in favor of opening the door to reveal Dean standing on their front step with a longish box, smiling broadly. Castiel felt warmth wash over him and he gestured his friend to come in. Dean passed through him into the living room and turned around to pass him the small box. Castiel curiously opened it and found a bottle of cheap wine and his eyes lit up. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I wanted to," Dean smiled, his eyes sparkling in glee. "I'm sorry it's not a great w-"

"Nonsense, that's the perfect gift," Castiel kissed his cheek and led him to the dining room.

Dean dazed a little, but snapped out of it when Chuck stood up and shook his hand. "I'm happy you could have joined us for this meal."

Dean blushed slightly, scratching the back of his head. "Well, sir, you are kindly cooking for us so I couldn't say no."

The older man chuckled. "Are you always this polite to other people? Just call me Chuck."

"Of course, si-um…Chuck," Dean nodded uneasily.

"Come on, sit down." They all sat down around the table and held hands, Chuck muttering some blessing. After, he told them to enjoy themselves as he stood up and went to the kitchen to bring the food to the table.

Dean smiled and turned to Castiel, while poking on his bread. "So, what's up, man?"

Castiel beamed. "I'm great, what about you?"

"Perfect, it's so nice of you and your dad to let me come and intervene in this family gathering."

"Nonsense. You weren't intervening in anything. Quite the opposite, actually, I don't think my father had someone to cook for for ages."

"Really? So you're the cook?"

"Yes, I quite enjoy cooking myself."

Dean shrugged. "Know what you mean, I cook for Sammy all the time. And I'm telling ya, if this kid was any more obvious, he would be worshiping my cooking," He smirked.

"What about your parents, are they away so they can't cook for you?" Castiel asked innocently.

Dean tensed and his hands shook a bit. Castiel took note of that and quickly covered his hands with his, worried. "Did I say something wrong? I'm so sorry, I didn't…"

"It's okay," Dean licked his lips, his body stiff like a rock. This was _so_ not a good idea. "I… I just… I mean, you've told me about your mom a-and it's not fair for me to keep my history from you after that."

"You don't need to tell me anything, Dean, you know that."

"I want to, but… can we do it after lunch?" Dean cast his eyes down, hands shaking.

Castiel squeezed them and brought them to his chest, it must be something very important to Dean if he was reacting this badly. "It's okay, Dean. Everything is going to be alright, okay?"

Dean nodded and slightly relaxed.

"Here is the food." Chuck's voice startled them and they jumped away from each other, blushing lightly.

"Did I interrupt something?" They shook their heads. "Great, I made some chicken and potatoes, okay?"

Dean smelt the delicious aroma and nodded, eager to start eating. Chuck laughed and cut a portion for him.

They ate quietly, Chuck asking here and then about school and how Dean is with Castiel. Castiel and Dean turned bright red when Chuck said that his late wife would tell him that they look so cute together. Apparently, she was a little bit weird as well. A writer, a fangirl and a socially awkward son. Quite a family, Dean mused, chuckling to himself.

"How's Sammy?" Castiel asked Dean when they cleared the plates. Chuck disappeared somewhere with the excuse that he has something to do, when in reality he had to get to his room because of his headaches. He didn't want Dean to leave out of concern.

Dean smiled fondly. "He's alright, the nerd. He went to Jessica's house. I just hope he'll man up and ask her out or something. His pining is driving me crazy!"

"He's only twelve, Dean. He's not even a teenager yet. Give him a break," Castiel laughed and dragged his friend upstairs, toward his room.

Dean scanned the room as they entered, seeing he has never been in Castiel's room before. It was painted light blue with white hangings on the sole window and a double twin bed was in the middle of the room, filling most of the space. There were several shelves of books and Dean noticed the lack of computer or any recent technologies.

"What are you? A cave-man?" At Castiel's insulted face, he added quickly. "Not like that, Cas. What I meant is that you don't have anything from this century."

"Well, I never was a big fan of those things anyway," Castiel's face softened and he smiled at him. "I just… prefer books, I guess. At least I have my cellphone, no?"

"True..."

They sat down on the bed and lied on their backs, staring at the ceiling. A comfortable silence fell over them for a while. And without really noticing, their hands found each other and intertwined, and they scooted closer to each other. After a while, Castiel noticed Dean's hand shaking slightly and he turned to look at him and was surprised to see his eyes misted, tears just barely there. He immediately rolled to his side and drew Dean to his arms, shushing him and patting his hair.

"What's wrong, Dean?" He whispered into the dark blond hair. Dean shook his head and buried his face even further into his embrace. Castiel sighed and kissed his forehead. "It's okay, Dean. It's okay. You're safe here. You can tell me anything."

Dean sniffled, hating himself for falling apart like that. "I… you'll hate me… you won't hate me if I do, would ya?"

Castiel cupped the teen's face. "Never, Dean. Nothing you did will ever make me hate you."

Dean nodded and drew away, still holding Castiel's hands. He swallowed thickly. "I… twelve years ago, there was a fire."

Well, that wasn't very promising, Castiel thought bitterly.

"Sammy was six months old and I was four." Castiel nodded, telling him to go on. "My mom was trapped there and my dad tried to save her. He gave me Sammy and told me to go out and to protect of him, so I did. I ran out of the house, and… I waited, a bad idea, since I was too close to the house when it exploded, but Dad managed to get us out of there in time and got me and Sammy away from the house. But my Mom didn't make it…"

"I'm so sorry." Castiel rubbed his forehands with his thumbs.

Dean nodded with a blank face. "Sammy doesn't remember her, so it's not that horrible. But I remember her making the most amazing pies I have ever eaten…"

"So that's what you meant when you told me Karen's pies reminded you of someone."

"Yeah..." He wondered off, brought back by Castiel snapping his fingers before his eyes. "Anyway… we rebuilt back the house and moved back in, but Dad wasn't the same since then… he would drink a lot – it was even worse than your dad's drinking. He would leave for weeks at a time, hunting deers or bears and would come back all bruised and injured. I had to take care of him for years while I raised Sammy myself. Luckily, mom had a life insurance, so we lived out of that for several years. But seven years and the same drinking problem later, it was all finished and we didn't have anymore money to sustain ourselves. Dad kept doing what he did and I started doing odd jobs around so I could get some money for Sammy. Then, on Sammy's eighth birthday, I couldn't take it anymore. He took all the money I saved for a present and finished that on booze. So I went to him and started shouting at him. Told him that he doesn't give a shit about us and that he was useless and I wanted him gone because all he did was ruin our lives." Dean choked. "H-he looked at me in the most p-painful face I have ever seen and h-he s-stood up and told me, 'I'm sorry, Dean. I-I love you' and walked out. T-the next morning I g-got a call that my dad was ran over and d-d-died. The last words I ever told him were 'I-I hate you'. I can't believe I said that to him! He was my father and I…I killed my own d-Dad," Dean broke down again, "It's all my fault! I'm so sorry, Dad!"

Castiel hugged him and let him cry, angry at Dean's father for what he made his sons go through, but he felt also empathy for his friend because he knew how he felt.

"My mother," He blurted, and Dean quieted down, startled and baffled. "She died because of a mugging gone wrong."

"I-I didn't know that." Dean drew back and gathered the teen into his arms, waiting for Castiel to continue.

Castiel simply nodded. "I was six years old and I wanted to go out to buy something I wanted for a long time. My mother, she was worried, but I told her that we would be fine, that it was just down the street. What's the worst that could happen, right?" He laughed bitterly. "Apparently, everything; we got what I wanted, a game set and a puzzle, and went out. At that same moment, two guys jumped on us and demanded money. Of course, I was scared, so I started crying, and they got mad. They told my mother to shut me up and if not, they'll shoot us. My mother held me but I couldn't stop crying and he… he just shot her and then the police came. She didn't make it… it went through her chest. She… she died in my arms." Castiel looked down in shame. "I cried once in her funeral, but I never cried since then… I can't…"

"Cas…" said boy looked up to his friend.

Dean cupped his face with his palms and pressed their foreheads together. "It's okay. It wasn't not your fault, Cas. You didn't know what was going on and if you did, I'm sure you would have stopped. You were just a kid." This time it was Dean who embraced him and patted his head.

"It's okay to cry. After all, Dean Winchester cries." Dean tried to joke, but at Cas' scoff, he turned solemn. "I'm serious, man. We're only kids, after all… we got the right to cry…"

"Dean…" Tears welled up in Cas' eyes and he buried his face in Dean's shoulder and cried for the first time in ten years. Dean clutched his friend and buried his face in his neck. The both of them started crying into each other, clinging to each other like their life depended on it, and maybe they did…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that's it for now. i'm sorry if they are too OOC, but i really have no idea how to potray them, sorry.  
> read and kudos.


	3. Forgiven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The real plot starts ;p

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think that Supernatural had downed Dean's intelligence a lot.  
> i think he's genius when it's about technology, but if he puts his mind into school, he could do everything else as well as Sam (Sam had to get those brains from somewhere, no?)  
> so don't kill me if you don't like smart!dean, because i would sue you for being idiots

They were asleep on Castiel's bed when Chuck came in. He smiled solemnly and covered them with a blanket, silently praying to god that these children will have only happiness in their lives.

* * *

Sam was worried.

He stayed at Jessica's for several hours and when he came back home, not even a single strand of Dean's hair was waiting for him. He thought that his brother may have stayed late at Castiel's but it was already past dinner. And Dean only mentioned lunch, so he had every right to be worried.

They didn't have cellphones which kind of sucks in these kind of situations. He tried calling the Shurleys' landline but no one picked up. In the end, he decided to go to the house and ask Castiel himself. Of course, seeing that he was underage, he couldn't drive, but thankfully, Castiel's house was only a ten-minute walk away.

And so he ran, trying to get there earlier.

Just by the corner of Castiel's street, something caught his eyes, a shadow, and he stopped. He stalked hesitantly toward it, trying to figure out what it was. When the figure moved, he saw that it was a man, around Dean's height, and he had a silver thing in his hand.

Terrified, he slowly backed away, but his feet landed on a twig and it snapped, and what a cliche it was. The crack echoed clearly in the silent street.

The man turned. It was a dark man with equally dark freckles spattered on his face and dark eyes. The thing he held turned out to a long silver blade. The man looked at him with contempt. "What do you want, mud monkey?"

Sam tried not to say anything that would make the man angrier and stayed silent, backing even more. However, the man did not look amused. "I asked you a question, mud-monkey, or do you have problems hearing?"

Sam shook his head and suddenly found himself pinned to a wall, with the silver blade pressed threateningly against his throat. He felt tears welling up in his eyes and silently prayed for Dean to save him; he was scared.

"I asked you a question!" The man shouted. "I don't have time to waste on you lot."

"Let him go!" Dean's voice rang through the night and the next moment, Sam found himself on the ground, taking large gulps of air and coughing. Dean hauled the man to the floor. "What do you think you are doing to my brother, you dick?" He shouted as he kicked the man.

The man stood up and sneered. "How dare you? How could you even land a hand on me?"

"I'm just awesome like that. Now go or I'll call the police!"

The man looked like he was musing about something, and then there was a sudden flash of recognition in his eyes and he looked at Dean as if he was seeing him for the first time. He then turned around and vanished.

Dean blinked but the man was really gone. How did he do that? He shook his head and crouched by his shaking brother and hugged him. "Are you okay, Sammy? What the hell were you doing here anyway?"

Sam sniffled and clutched at Dean's shirt. "I was worried sick, Dean. You weren't home yet and I thought that maybe something had happened to you. So I decided to come to Cas' house to check on you but then I see this guy looking over the street with this knife. I tried to quietly go away but he heard me and he called me a 'mud monkey'," Sam called hysterically.

Dean berated himself for forgetting the late hour. "I'm so sorry, Sammy. I should have told you I could be late. Did you try calling Cas' house?"

"Yeah! And no one answered, that's why I came!"

"I'm so sorry, it won't happen again."

"It better not, you jerk... You promise?" Sam looked at him with big watery hazel eyes and Dean smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"I promise. Now let's get home and feed you before you starve to death or something."

The little pre-teen chuckled, still a bit hysteric over the encounter, and they stood up, Dean offering Sam his hand. Sam took the hand gratefully and they walked home.

* * *

"I see, is he okay?" Castiel held the phone close to his ear, anxious.

" _Yeah, he's fine. I'm sorry, Cas, I never intended to stay so late at your house._ " Dean's voice sounded a bit scared.

"It's okay. We can do that again if you want. Just next time, tell your brother."

" _No doubt about that. That kid nearly gave me a heart attack. When I saw that man pushing a knife to his neck, I thought I was gonna lose my family for good._ " His voice trembled and Castiel wished he could be there, next to him, soothing him.

"It'll be alright, Dean. Sam is a strong kid. Maybe it's time to teach him to defend himself or something, no?"

Dean cheered up and laughed. " _That's right, Cas! I could teach him and then he could be the strongest kid on earth, besides me, that is_."

"What about me?" Castiel sounded hurt, but he was really faking it. Dean didn't know that though so he started apologizing for forgetting his awesomeness and that he was one of the strongest kids he ever knew. Castiel couldn't help it and he laughed. He told Dean that he was only kidding, but Dean remained solid in his opinion that Castiel was strong as well, like him and Sam and that the three of them should conquer and rule over the world. Castiel laughed harder and said that he would think of it first because he still had school to finish before entertaining anything about world domination. Dean disapproved and told him that he was just wasting his time and that he should do it right now and then he wouldn't need to know so friggin' much. Castiel chuckled and said that maybe he and Sammy should rule the world first and then he would join them later on. Dean protested and said that they wouldn't win without him and that they were a team.

"What would you call the team then?" Castiel thought out loud.

Dean went quiet for a moment and then said, " _I think that 'Team Free Will' would be a good name._ "

That surprised the dark-haired teen. "Why team free will?"

" _Because… everyone in the world I rule will have free will, I think?_ "

That was a good reason. "Or maybe because we oppose the dictatorship of our nation?"

" _That's also a good reason. So we are 'Team Free Will'!_ "

"That we are," Castiel nodded and smiled. "See you tomorrow, Dean."

" _Alright, Cas. Goodnight._ "

"Goodnight," He hung up.

* * *

Dean was sleeping on his bed when soft padding came to his room and stopped. He opened one eye and saw Sam standing awkwardly by his bed, holding his pillow and rubbing his eye, his hair messed. His eyes sleepy but alert.

"'s wrong, S'mmy?" He slurred, yawning.

"Dean, can I sleep in your bed tonight?" Sam said. His face was a bit red but thankfully, it was being hidden by the darkness of the room.

"'s 'cuz of what happened 'rlier?" Sam nodded and Dean sighed and shuffled to the far side of the small bed. "'ere," He yawned again.

"Thanks, big brother," Sam smiled and climbed onto the bed and cuddled into Dean's arms. "Thank you for everything."

Dean tensed a bit. "I 'aven't done anything, Sammy. The opposite, 'tually', I 'ave ruined our lives."

"It's not your fault dad died," Sam scoffed. "If you didn't tell him what you said,  _I_ would have said it, and then it would be  _my_  fault."

"It could never be your fault, Sammy."

"Then it's not your fault either, brother. And the name's Sam."

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Go to sleep, shrimp," He chuckled.

Sam scoffed. "Don't call me that, one day I'm gonna be taller than ya."

"We'll live and see, squirt. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. I love you, Dean."

Dean smiled softly. "I love you too, Sammy."

* * *

Team Free Will had gathered together a week after for its first meeting at the Winchesters' house. They were discussing Halloween plans and every idea that was popped in was worse and crazier.

"We can't do that!" Castiel cried in the middle of the meeting. "You'll get us expelled!"

Sam and Dean cackled evilly. "But that is the  **PERFECT**  plan! You can't ignore that."

"Yes, I can and I  _will_. What are you guys even thinking?!"

The brothers wanted to go to school and paint it Halloween style like Chuck has been writing in his latest series, 'Supernatural'. Sam thought that the plot was awesome and Dean thought that the monsters were cleverly written and were cool, and that the described the action was priceless. They wanted to dress up as the main characters and begged Castiel to dress up as one of the angels.

"There's even one named Castiel! And he's one of the good guys! I bet Chuck wrote this character based on you." Dean looked smug. Castiel chuckled.

"And he based the main brothers on you two, he said."

"Really?" Their eyes lit up.

"Well… at first we didn't know you, so he did them one way. But when we met you, he saw that his main characters were very close to you two and decided to make them you, only older and with slightly different backgrounds."

"Well, Jared and Jensen are really weird names, but if he had known us before, they would have been called Dean and Sam."

"That's would be  _so_  awesome!" Sam dazedly said and Dean laughed.

"Relax, Samantha. I promise ya you would be famous because of your geekiness very soon."

Castiel laughed as well as the brothers started doing all kind of poses, trying to copy Jensen and Jared, looking extremely ridiculous.

"You're doing a great job!" He clapped and wiped a tear from his eye. His eyes seemed to be regaining their wetness since he had cried that night and he felt that it was a good thing, because now he felt stronger than ever, his emotions becoming more concrete; he laughed more easily, actually cried, the anger inside of him evaporated and he was happier than ever.

Dean eyed him and he felt warmth wash over his body and pool in his stomach. He was confused for this sudden feeling and decided to just ignore it and blame it to the euphoria he was having lately.

Dean grinned and changed his pose and winked, trying to act like Jensen's flirtatious mode and Castiel found himself actually flushing red. He looked away. What was wrong with him?

Sam looked at them and smirked, pushing Dean toward Castiel. "Hey, Cas! Who is the better brother? Dean or me?"

Castiel tilted his head. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Because you're unbiased and should tell us who really has a future as his character!"

"Um…" Castiel wanted to tell Sam that he was a  _bit_  biased, and it wasn't toward him, but at the end he sighed and pointed at Dean. "I think he understands Jensen better than you do, Sam."

"That's not the answer!" Sam whined.

"Sorry, you wanted me to tell what I think, and it's not about the posing, but the basics, like the expressions and body language."

Dean blushed and Sam just said 'Oh-ho?' smirking knowingly at them. Castiel tilted his head at their responses. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No!" "You commented about how Dean looks-"

"I'll kill you." Dean glared at his brother, who whistled innocently and then he peered at Castiel, who blushed harder, understanding what he implied about.

"I'm sorry about this little bitch, he just can't take how awesome we are," Dean tried to joke with him, and it would've been helpful, if he wasn't flushing so hard. Castiel hanged his head down in embarrassment and Dean rubbed his nape, both awkwardly quiet.

"Um… should we… um... go to my room?" Dean asked at the end, breaking the silence.

"S-sure."

"Great! Um…" They looked at each other and chuckled. "Come on, let's go," He reached out and grabbed Castiel's hand, pulling him towards his room, both completely forgetting about Sam.

Said pre-teen cackled after their retreat and decided to go to the living room to watch some TV while waiting for his brother to come back down.

* * *

"How do you live alone here?" Castiel asked. They sat on Dean's bed, Castiel's head on Dean's lap and his body lying on the bed. They always seemed to end up in those kinds of positions even though Dean knew that friends don't do that. Honestly? Dean didn't know how friends act himself, but he didn't give a damn. Castiel is more than a friend to him, even more than a brother. It kind of freaked him out with its chick-clicky feeling, but not because Castiel was a dude; he had never been one to judge people because he was never a saint himself.

The taller teen threaded his fingers through his dark hair and sighed. "I get a very fat check as a mechanic and manager's helper at the Singers. 'm also doing some odds jobs here and there."

"I know that, Dean. I meant, how do you make the people let you live alone? You both are underage."

"No shit, Sherlock. Let's just say that we do have a guardian that dad signed him up."

"Really? Who?" Castiel blinked in confusion when Dean cackled a bit.

"Dean Campbell."

"So he has your first name? How weird…"

Dean deadpanned. "Cas, it's me."

Castiel was shocked. "But your last name is-"

"My mother's maiden name was Mary Campbell, so I made a persona called Dean Campbell."

"How?" He was astonished; this should be on the level of a  _genius_!

"There are a lot of holes in the system," Dean shrugged. "I just used some of them to create this persona. I have everything – ID, credit card, passport, cell-phone and etc."

" _Wow_ , that must have been hard," His admiration for Dean grew stronger. "If you are so smart, how come you are not excelling in our classes?"

"Too much trouble, and besides, I ain't  _that_  smart."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Dean."

"But it's true!"

"No it's not," Castiel scoffed and Dean sighed.

" _Fine_ ~~, I'm smart and the greatness in its true form, happy?"

"Very," Castiel smiled and Dean pouted.

"You like annoying me, don'tcha?"

"Most likely. You're adorable pouting."

Dean blushed. "Shut up, I'm not adorable!"

"Yes, you are, pinky cheeks."

" _Cas_ ~!" He slightly whined and poked his friend's nose, who laughed.

"But really, thank you, Dean."

"What for?" Dean tilted his head, baffled.

"For being my friend, and for being on my side." Castiel traced Dean's jaw with his fingers from the boy's lap, looking as Dean closed his eyes and relaxed into the touch.

"Well, you deserve that.  _I_  should thank  _you_  for staying with me even after learning what I did…" Dean sighed.

Castiel scoffed and grabbed the chin and turned his friend's face to him. "It wasn't your fault, Dean. Your father had pushed you beyond the limits you could handle."

"It still was no excuse for saying what I said, Cas," Dean stopped him, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. "I should have stopped him from leaving."

Castiel sat up and grabbed Dean's shoulders, shaking them furiously. "Listen to yourself, Dean! I can't believe you put all the blame on you when it should be on your bastard of a father!"

Dean was shocked into silence, eyes wide, but Castiel wasn't finished.

"How old were you Dean when your mother died?  **FOUR!**  How old were you when you started working to get by every day?  **ELEVEN!**  How old were you when you confronted your father? ONLY  **TWELVE!**  Don't you  ** _dare_**  blame yourself, you hypocrite! You told me that if I knew better I would stop, right? RIGHT! Then if you knew that he would die the next day, you would've stopped him, right?  **RIGHT AGAIN!**  Now shut up and stop thinking that you should take the world on your shoulders, because you  **shouldn't**. You're just a kid, like me! Sammy doesn't blame you, and I certainly don't blame you, so stop blaming  **YOU**!" Castiel panted after shouting everything and he let his face fall onto Dean's shoulder and sniffled. "You can't blame yourself, Dean. It's not fair when you don't let me blame myself… didn't you tell me that 'we are only kids'? Where's the truth in that if you don't let go of what you did and cry it all out?" His eyes welled up and he hugged Dean close to him. "Just let it all go…"

Dean was tearing up now, and the minute Castiel said those words, he broke down and cried out, burying his face in his friend's neck and crying into it, letting himself go slack.

"Shh, let it all go away…" Castiel whispered into his neck. "I'm here, Sam's here, and we're not leaving you. We all love you very dearly. I love you, Dean, more than I thought was possible."

Dean felt relief wash him over when he realized that Castiel was in the same predicament as him.

"Cas-I… you too… Cas…"

"Shh… I know…"  
It was silent and comforting. And as they held each other, something they didn't know grows stronger and will help them overcome many hardships through their future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so maybe.... the plot didn't start yet... but it will! soon!!!  
> hope you enjoy it and please kudos me! and comment!


	4. Camping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some signs are showing ;p

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i just felt that i needed to put more chapters because it was killing me not to. so here you go, enjoy :)

Months later, Dean and Castiel found themselves finally before spring break.

Finally.

Dean, with Castiel's encouragement, started to actually put his mind into the subjects and as the latter suspected, he excelled in most of them and was a smart student compared to the rest of the classes. Castiel got a job at a small book store and helped around until he became the assistant for the manager and got a pretty fat check for a kid. He asked for Bobby's help to put some of his saving into Dean's account, knowing how much he needed it more than he did. And he knew for a fact that Dean would never accept his money if he outright offered.

For Halloween, 'Team Free Will' went with the brothers' plan and unexpectedly, the principal didn't care and even laughed along with the students when one of the teachers ran down the hall with a 'Wendigo' running after her.

They celebrated Christmas together. Castiel and Sam bought a necklace for Dean with an amulet of a horned god and Castiel told him a bit about its history. Sam and Dean gave Cas his first I-pod. It was a bit old and battered, previously the brothers', but still Castiel was thrilled and Dean said that he could help him download songs into it from the school's computers. Castiel and Dean gave Sam a scarf and a pair of gloves, which Sam was very grateful for because it was getting cold and his old pair were already worn out and too small for him.

They also celebrated Dean's birthday on the twenty-fourth of January even though he asked Castiel not to do anything for him because it wasn't such a bit of a deal, which of course, made Castiel want even more to do something for him.

Sam had finally asked Jessica out and she agreed. He was so happy and even after three months, they still were together and did not even kiss yet. Sam said he wanted to wait for a special occasion to do that, and Dean told him that he should always remind his girl that he loves her and that he didn't get bored by her. It's the worst part of a relationship, he told Castiel, when your beloved doesn't think you care anymore when you still do. Castiel chuckled and asked him if he still cared about him and Dean blushed and said that there was no way he could hate him even if he had tried. After that, he tried to avoid Castiel for about a week but was brought back when Castiel told he didn't mind him being cheesy.

Dean and Castiel were 'together', you could say, after that night. They felt something pull them closer to each other and neither tried to fight it at all. They would hang out together for a long time and then would sleep at Dean's house, because Dean's was still a bit paranoid over Sam after what had happened on that day. They would study for tests and would tease each other a lot. They would play with Sam sometimes as TFW – Team Free Will, with the three of them scheming plans to rule over the world, each one getting more and more crazier and absurd. They never kissed as well, at least not on the lips. They would kiss on the cheeks, the forehead or the nose, but never the lips. They didn't know if they were ready to finalize that connection they have between them.

Still, no one could deny the fact that the three of them were happier than ever and it reflected in their interactions with strangers and acquaintances. How they would smile bigger or laugh more sincerely. Jessica even pointed out to Sam that they look as if something filled an empty space in them. Sam just shrugged and said that it was possible.

For the first week of spring break, they had decided to go to the Kansas River, which was going through west Lawrence and camp there for couple of days. Castiel, Dean and Sam would go there and learn (or try to, at least) the wonders of the nature.

"You ready there, feathers?" Dean yelled from his parked car in front of Castiel's house and honked.

The weirdest part of their relationship was that Dean had started calling Castiel nicknames that always had to do something from his counterpart in the books. Castiel liked them, but he never could help but think that his friend was weird.

"I'm ready!" Castiel ran down the stairs with his backpack and a tent bag.

Sam and Dean rolled their eyes and chuckled at Castiel's slight clumsiness and snickered when he glared at them when he climbed into the car.

"Well, then," Dean pressed the gas and they were on their way. "Time to roll."

He then turned to Castiel and told him with a very serious face. "There are three rules in this car: one, driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake-hole. Two, I'm always right. Three, I decide when we stop, okay?"

Castiel grinned and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, cowboy."

"I'll hold you on that, trench coat."

"I'm not wearing a coat, Dean."

"In the books you are and I bet that they make you look like a holy tax accountant."

"It's his vessel, Dean. He can't exactly choose how he would look."

They started bickering about benefits and disadvantages of vessels and Sam was long gone, sleeping in his seat.

* * *

"This looks like a good spot to camp for the trip." Dean contemplated over a clearing in the edge of the forest, by the river. Castiel agreed with him and they stared setting up the tents and the pyre. Sam was still asleep and they decided to leave him alone for now, knowing he would wake up alone in time.

After they had done with the preparations, they left a note for Sam and went to the edge of the river, sitting down and lowering their legs to the rushing water, their pants rolled up to the middle of their shins.

Castiel had his head on Dean's shoulder and they just stayed quiet, enjoying the noises of nature around them, relishing the buzzing silence.

"This is amazing, Dean, thank you so much."

"Don't mention it. You worth everything to me and I would anything for you," Dean blushed and placed a hand over his friend's mouth. "Now shut up and let me enjoy this a bit."

After a while, Castiel raised his head from Dean's shoulder and caught his gaze. They looked at each other for a long time and felt their faces drawing closer like magnets. Dean looked at Castiel's lips through hooded eyes and Castiel closed his eyes and-

"There you are!" Sam's voice came from behind. They jumped away from each other, bright red. Sam pouted when he slid between them, not apprehending what he had just interrupted. "You guys left me all alone in the car, I thought for a moment that the trip was only a façade to leave me alone forever here…"

Dean and Castiel laughed, still embarrassed from what almost happened. "We didn't leave you alone. Though I'll reconsider that because of your bitchy whining," Dean smacked Sam's head.

"Ouch!" Sam rubbed his head protectively. "Why are you so mean?"

"Because I'm older."

"Then does that mean that Castiel can be mean to you? He's the oldest here," Sam asked innocently.

"Yeah, by a few months, Sammy, doesn't count," Dean retorted and Castiel cackled a bit.

"I think it does,  _Dean._ "

"Even if it did, I don't think you'll be mean to me, you're too nice," Dean said, oblivious to his friend's smirk.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "We'll see about that," He shoved Dean to the river.

"Cas-!" Dean fell into the river and disappeared into the water. Sam and Castiel laughed, and then, when moments passed and Dean didn't surface, they started to get worried.

"Dean?" Castiel crouched at the edge of the water. "Are you okay?"

A hand popped from the water and pulled him into the river. Castiel tumbled and fell into the water. The sounds of Sam's laughing clear throughout the clearing.

In the water, Dean was smirking as Castiel was pouting at him. Dean rolled his eyes and pecked his cheek before he surfaced, dragging his friend with him.

"Dean! I thought you'd drowned!" Castiel exclaimed, blushing when they were on solid ground.

"Well, think about that next time you push someone into the water," Dean snickered. "Come on, we should get dried out." He started taking off his clothes.

"Dean! What are you doing?!" Castiel cried out when he saw him take off his shirt, covering his eyes.

"Getting undressed, what else? You should do that as well if you don't want to catch a cold."

"But-"

"Relax~ we'll look to the other side not to see each other naked, okay?" Dean rolled his eyes.

Castiel nodded. After a few minutes, they placed their clothes on rocks to dry under the sun and scooted closer to the fire, sitting with their backs pressing together.

"You okay there, Cas?"

"Yes… this is weird…"

"Why?"

"Are you used to being naked in the presence of other people?"

"Not girls, but I used to do that with my brother a lot when we were younger. He got bitchy about that a year or two back, I still don't mind, if I know the guy, like you."

"Did you do it with someone else before?"

"Nah, just Sammy."

"I see…" Why did it make him feel smug at the thought? He felt the warmth radiance from the fire and Dean's body. He leaned a bit more into his warmth and closed his eyes. Dean smiled and slid a hand and caught Castiel's, grabbing it then squeezing.

"Where's Sam?"

"Went for some alone time. He doesn't want to see us naked. Like I told you, bitchy."

He laughed and dared to take a look behind him, but only up where Dean's head was and his breathe was taken away.

The setting sun and the dancing fire colored Dean's face with orange and red, accenting his strong yet elegant features. His still slight round face showed signs of maturing and his lips were rolled upwards in a smile. His bright green eyes looked at him and slowly looked down to his lips. He blushed and pressed his face closer to him, bodies half turned to each other.

"Cas…" Dean breathed his name like a prayer and he couldn't help but smile.

"Yes?"

"You're beautiful." The eyes looked at his again and he blushed.

"You are, too."

"Should we…?" Dean blushed as well, his hand twitching as if wanting to do something. Castiel smiled warmly and took the hand and placed it on his cheek. They looked at each other shyly and slowly drew closer until their lips were pressed together in a chaste kiss.

They closed their eyes and missed the light enveloping their bodies, colored orange from the sun and the dancing fire. Dean brought his other hand to cup his nape and Castiel circled his arms around his waist, both of their faces full of glee and peace.

"Dean…" Castiel breathed against Dean's lips when they drew away. "I…"

"Shh… I know…" Dean smiled, his thumb tracing his lips, "Me too…"

"Can we…?" Castiel asked shyly.

Dean nodded and pressed their lips together again. Their bodies turned full front to each other, hands intertwined and lips pressing to each other. The light intensified and when they drew away this time, the light didn't disappear, only getting brighter and engulfing the whole clearing.

They looked wide eyed at the light and then at each other, both asking the same question in their heads:  _what the hell was going on?_

"Guys?" Sam's worried voice echoed through the light. "What's going on?"

"Stay away, Sammy," Said Dean. "I have no idea what it is, so stay away." He grabbed Castiel's hand and they slowly padded away from the fire, and suddenly the light was gone, leaving them under the soft glare of the moon. They hadn't noticed, but it was evening already.

Sam peered from the trees and when he saw no light, stalked to them, "What the hell was that?" He gave them their clothes he picked up on his way and they dressed up quickly.

"I have no idea, but I don't think it was hostile," Castiel said.

"Why not?"

"Because it felt… warm?" He shrugged.

"Now that you mention it, I felt warm as well, but I thought it was only from the fire."

"And from Cas," Sam added nonchalantly, smirking when the two of them blushed. "Oh my god, please don't tell me you did anything dirty while I was away."

"What the hell are you watching in your free time, pervert?" Dean licked his lips, glaring at his little brother. "We did no such thing."

"So who kissed first? You or Cas?" Sam ignored him, his smirk turning evil.

Cas mumbled 'no idea' and Dean facepalmed, "Don't egg him on."

"Oh, sorry."

"Cas…"

"You do know that you guys act like a married couple, right?" Sam cheered, backing away innocently.

Dean had enough. "Get back here, you… you little bitch!" He started chasing the laughing pre-teen, who hooted at him. "Let me kill ya!"

"No way!" Sam laughed and climbed onto one of the trees. Dean stood underneath the tree and shouted, "Get back down, bitch!"

"No way, jerk," Came the reply from the leaves.

"Leave him alone, Dean," Castiel grabbed Dean's arm. "We can do something more fun than running after your brother."

"Like what?" Dean asked curiously.

Castiel pulled him away, smirking. When they were a little bit into the woods, Castiel pecked his cheek, "We could hide and make him search for us."

"That's a great idea!" Dean smirked back at him. "Maybe we even should ditch him and return home."

Castiel laughed. "Don't be  _that_  mean to your brother."

"But you won't protest if I do that?"

"Not really."

Dean chuckled. "Would you protest if I do this?" He pressed his lips to Castiel's. The shorter teen giggled and hugged Dean's neck, pressing back happily.

" _Dean~_   _Cas~_ " Sam's whining was heard nearby and the teens giggled.

"Busted," Dean breathed and pecked Castiel once more before returning to the camp with Castiel behind him, smiling brightly.

* * *

Castiel felt like he was on cloud nine since they had returned from the camping. He and Dean had kissed several times more when Sam wasn't looking. They had fun fishing and playing some games involving dressing as cave-men or soldiers coming to plant a base. They would have mock-fights and at the end, it would always result to the three of them rolling together on the ground and becoming dirtier than previously planned. They would then swim in the water and splash at each other. At night, the three of them will sleep in the same make-shift bed with Sam squashed between Dean and Castiel.

"I see the trip did well for you," Chuck commented when Dean dropped him at home. Castiel nodded, a big smile smeared on his face. "It was great."

"I'm glad for you, my boy," Chuck smiled at him. His son bowed his head to him and disappeared upstairs to unpack everything.

Chuck's smile fell and he clutched his head. He was having another headache like the one he had while his son was away. He saw light consuming him and then two sets of wings sprout out of two figures, one white-silver and merging with the light, and the other…

Enormous and gold with blood smeared on them.


	5. Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, i promise this is the last chapter for today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
> hope you enjoy

Dean lied on his bed two nights later, unable to sleep. He sighed, turned onto his side and glanced outside the window, where the stars were shown scattered throughout the dark-ink sky. He smiled and tried to make a picture of Castiel out of the stars and managed to make only his eyes. He chuckled to himself and decided that they were very damn great drawn eyes. Right when he just about thought that, a star suddenly flashed out. He blinked and another star vanished. He sat up and walked to the window, looking as the stars were, one by one, flashing out.

"What the hell is going on?" His eyes were wide as the sky was completely washed by darkness and he immediately looked at the moon, just in time to see it vanish like it was splashed with water, smearing down until it was completely gone.

Dean couldn't move when he felt heat sizzle and light creep from behind him to the window, as if trying to escape the confines of the room. His heart was beating frantically and his eyes and throat burned. He tried to breathe but found himself choking. He sled down to the ground, coughing and heaving, desperate for oxygen. He felt two feathery things cover his body and a voice whispered into his ear 'You can stop this, just call me, Dean. We can stop this'.

"Leave me alone!" He coughed out and blood splattered to the ground. The light receded and the things and the voice vanished. He looked up and saw the sky fill with light and-

* * *

He sat up in his bed, panting and sweating, his heart beating too fast for his own good. Dean clutched his chest and willed himself to breathe. Just freaking breath, Dean.

_What the hell just happened?_

He quickly climbed down from the bed and rushed to the window and exhaled in relief when he saw the stars and the moon still painted on the sky that started to turn dark pink – the sun was rising. He felt tears escape his eyes when the adrenaline left him and he choked. He fell on his bed, smiling crazily. He was so happy he could just die. The dream shook him to the core and he had no idea what he had just witnessed.

Was this dream supposed to tell him something other than scaring him to death? And who was that? That voice…

' _You can stop this, just call me… we can stop this_ '

Stop what? Call who? How can he stop whatever it is? He clutched his head when a headache reared his head. He could already see the sunlight chase the darkness away and was never happier to see morning come.

He decided that if he wasn't going back to sleep, he could make some breakfast and then get away. He needed to think.

* * *

Castiel was dreaming of two warm wings enveloping him when a ringing woke him up. He groaned and looked at the time before sighing, it was only nine A.M. It was too early for phone calls but he picked it up anyway. He was startled to hear Sam's frantic rambling on the other side.

"Whoa, Sam, relax and tell me again, I just woke up."

Sam took a deep breath, sounding like he was on the brink of tears. " _I can't find Dean, and his bed is all messed and the window is open. The impala is gone and he only left a note that said that he will be back with groceries and that was four hours ago._ "

"How do you know it was four hours ago? No one wakes up in five A.M., especially on a break."

" _He always writes the time on the top of the page and he said that he needed to think. But no one thinks **that much**. Can you check if he's in your area?_ "

You'd be surprised, Castiel thought but he was getting worried nonetheless. He shuffled from the bed and quickly changed his clothes. "Don't worry, Sammy, I'll go looking for him. Stay at your house in case he returns and give me a call when he does."

Sam sounded relieved. " _Thank you, Cas!_ "

"See you later." He hung up and rushed out of the house.

* * *

He was looking for an hour when he suddenly thought of going to the school. It was deserted during this time of year and it's a great hiding place. He rushed to the school and to his relief, he spotted the impala by the gates and he quickly climbed one of the gates to get to the other side. He rushed to the school grounds, because the school building itself was locked and it didn't seem logical that Dean would waste time if he could just sit outside and still be hidden.

As predicted, he spotted Dean next to the west side wall of the school, on the grass. He came closer, about to give him a piece of his mind about worrying his little brother when he saw him properly. What he saw made him stop on his tracks.

Dean was in a fetal position and shivering uncontrollably, hands covering his head. He was rocking, as if trying to calm himself. He saw his duffle bag sprawled on the grass next to him, the contents scattered all over, most of them are groceries.

"Dean?" He hesitantly called. Dean tensed and started rocking even faster.

"Dean, what's wrong?" He crouched before him and grabbed his hands, trying to pry them away from his head. The teen shook his head and didn't let him move his hands; he was surprisingly very strong and Castiel decided to hug him and try to sooth him.

"Shh… Dean, it's okay… you're safe. I'm here and Sam is waiting back home, worried sick about you. What happened? Was it a bad dream?"

Dean's voice hitched and the hands slacked and clutched at his shirt. "Cas, Cas, Cas, Cas…" He muttered his name like a mantra.

"Yes, Dean, I'm here and I'm not going to leave you, now please return to me. I love you Dean, please come back."

"Cas… don't let him… get me…" He cried.

"Who wants to get you, Dean?" Castiel was scared. Who wants to hurt his friend?

"The light! The stars and the moon – all gone and this light, and-"

"Dean, it was a dream!" Castiel hugged him tighter when he felt Dean getting more frantic and scared, feeling panicked himself as he couldn't calm his friend down. "It wasn't real, you're safe! I'm real, don't be scared."

"He wanted me, Cas! He wanted to take over me and now he had found me," He cried louder. "I can't! Help me, Cas!"

Castiel cupped his face and brought it up sharply and crashed his lips unto Dean's, conveying all his love and concern and warmth. Dean was wide eyed, trying to struggle, but Castiel didn't let him. After a moment or two, Dean finally relaxed, letting his body go slack.

"Dean?" Castiel drew away, but then he found out that Dean had passed out. "Dean!"

No answer from the unconscious teen.

Castiel frantically checked for a heartbeat and, to his relief, found one beating a bit fast, but in a steady rhythm. He hauled Dean to the gate of the school and returned to bring his stuff. Now he had a problem… how was he going to bring Dean to the other side of the gates?

Oh, right…

He called Sam. "Sam?"

" _Oh, thank god! Did you find him? Where was he? Is he okay?_ "

"Sam, relax. I need your help."

" _Anything!_ "

"I found Dean in the school's grounds, but he is unconscious and I have no way of passing the gates. I can't carry him then climb to the other side either; can you come and help me?"

" _Of course! Is he okay? I'll be there in a moment._ "

"He's fine, hurry."

" _Alright._ " The line was cut off.

Castiel sighed in relief and decided to hold Dean for the meanwhile. He didn't know what exactly happened but he suspected it was a nightmare and when Dean bought the groceries, something made him think that the voice came back, driving him to the corner. He played with the short dark blond hair, hoping that he would be able to fix whatever happened to his friend.

* * *

Minutes later, he saw Sam standing on the other side of the gates, face contorted in concern.

Castiel passed him the bag, squeezing it through the bars, and Sam took it and placed it aside.

"How are we going to get him to the other side?" Castiel looked at the gates. They weren't that high, but it'd be hard to do it with someone in his arms.

"You can bring him to the top and I'll meet you there and then you'll get down and I'll drop him to your arms. The gates are not that high and you're stronger than me."

"That's a bit insane," Castiel sighed, "But we'll have to go with it."

He managed, after a few failed tried, to haul Dean with him to the top of the gates, where Sam met them. He let Sam hold him while he jumped to the ground and then Sam, with big effort, managed to bring Dean fully to their sides and tried to lower him, but he was too weak and Dean fell, luckily right into Castiel's arms, taking Castiel by surprise and they both fell on the ground, Dean sprawled on top of Castiel.

"Are you okay there?" Sam asked when he hopped down and went to them, helping Castiel get Dean up.

"He's fine. I'll bring him to the impala. You bring the things with you, okay?" Sam nodded and in no time at all, Castiel drove the Chevy back to the Winchesters' house. He hauled Dean to his bed and covered him with blankets and placed a chaste kiss on Dean's lips before exiting. He went downstairs, where Sam waited for him with a bowl of cereals and milk. Castiel thanked him and sat down.

"What exactly happened?" Sam asked as he sat down, his face grave.

"I don't know," He didn't know if he should tell him Dean's words.

' _He wanted to take over me, the light! And now he found me…_ '

What was that? What about that Light? Castiel remembered his dream about the light wings covering him and warming him up. Could it be something similar? And also the light from the camp, what was that? He's starting to have a bad feeling about this…

"Liar." It seems Sam made his decision for him.

Castiel sighed. "I think that Dean had a nightmare and then when he went out to get groceries to take his mind out of what his dreams consisted of, he was so tired, having woken up at the wee hours of the morning, that his mind made him recall or hear something similar to the dream and he panicked." He told Sam only what he suspected that happened, not the things that plagued Dean's dreams and was afraid that the little kid would call him on that.

But to his relief, Sam seemed to accept that answer and went quiet, his head nodding a bit and then straightening up and then he nodded off again.

"I think it would be wise for you to get back to sleep." Castiel told him. "I'll watch over Dean, okay?"

The pre-teen pondered about that for a bit before nodding and getting up, swaying upstairs to his room sleepily.

Castiel smiled affectionately at the retreating back of the younger Winchester and went up to Dean's room. He sat by the older sibling's bed and cupped his cheek, looking at him with warm eyes. Dean looked better than before, sporting a small smile on his lips and all wrinkles soothed out, making him seem like his rightful age. Only when Dean showed his true vulnerability would Castiel notice the pain, the shame and the past weighing down on his friend's shoulders, making him seem older than he was.

He bent over the teen, his face hovering over Dean's. "I love you, Dean," He whispered against his lips and smiled when Dean mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'Love you, Cas' and pressed their lips in a chaste kiss.

Dean hummed and turned on his side, a sincere smile adorning his face. Castiel's smile grew and he chuckled at the adorable sight, patting Dean's hair and kissed his forehead.

"I hope that everything will get better," He murmured to himself, feeling slight fear catching root in his heart, dreading the day that would break the teen's careless attitude.

"Please, oh Lord, please don't let me lose Dean. We suffered enough, isn't that enough for you? Please don't ruin the only person I love. I just want to be happy with him. Can't we at least have that?" He prayed, tears trailing down his cheeks as everything from the moment he woke up and had found out that Dean was missing and until now had crushed into him and his heart clenched tightly to the point of feeling pain with fear and concern and love to the teen on the bed.

A hand wiping his tears startled him and he opened his eyes to see a distraught Dean looking at him with big worried eyes. His hand cupped Dean's hand that was still tracing his face.

"I'm fine, Dean," He smiled with half-lidded, teary eyes, resting his head on the joined hands. "Everything is going to be just fine."

"I don't worry." Dean smiled at him with that beautiful smile of his and Castiel melted right there, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"I'm glad."

* * *

Sam had a very weird dream after he slid back into his bed. He means, none of what happened in that place could happen in real life… right?

He was in a room with no windows or doors. A table with a dark box sitting on it was standing in the middle of the room. Sam curiously walked toward the box and saw that the box was locked with shackles and padlocks. Baffled, he touched the box and felt a surge of icy feeling go through him, causing him to tumble back.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." He turned to see a kid his age with light brown hair and golden eyes above a cheeky nose and lips. He was sprouting two enormous gold wings and he wore a t-shirt with 'Love Moose' printed on it.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in my dream?" Now he was absolutely sure it was a dream, unless he was going crazy and that  ** _wasn't_**  a comforting option.

The boy smirked and ignored his questions. Instead, he touched the box and Sam felt warmth wash him. He looked in awe at him. "What did you do?"

"Securing the cage better. If you would have touched the box long enough you would have released something quite mean."

"What? And what are you?"

The boy shrugged. "I'm an angel. I thought you would figure that out by now. Guess that you aren't as smart as I've thought."

"Wow~" Sam's eyes grew wide with wonder. "That's awesome! My name's Sam, what's your name?"

"Finally polite, huh?" A brow rose in amusement. "But I'll guess I'll entertain you. Name's Gabriel and I'm your guardian angel, you could say." He popped a lollipop out of thin air and nodded to Sam. "Want?"

Sam shook his head and Gabriel shrugged, already licking the lollipop, "Well, too bad. At least that means more for me then."

"Wait, Guardian?"

"Not the best job I signed for, but yeah, basically."

"Why do I have a guardian angel? Were you always my guardian angel? And what about Dean? Does that have to do with the light I saw in the camp? Did y-"

"Do you ever shut up?" Gabriel rolled his eyes and stuck another goodie in Sam's mouth, successfully shutting him up. Sam looked at him with big puppy eyes and Gabriel sighed, cursing under his breathe. "Yes, Dean-o has a guardian angel, although his doesn't even know he's an angel. Yes, I'm your damn guardian because it was an order, and no! I have no idea why! No, the light wasn't mine but it was from an angelic source. Happy?"

Sam nodded smugly.

Gabriel smirked. "You little… you planned it!" He ruffled the flustered boy and laughed. "Just what I would expect from a Winchester." He smiled. "You should wake up now, before your annoying brother and his boyfriend will get worried."

"Will I remember this dream?" Sam got scared all the sudden, not wanting to forget this so weird yet so fascinating dream.

"It's unlikely," Gabriel nodded. "I broke too many rules doing what I did now. Not worth it at all. But hey, at least no one will get mad on old poor archangel," He snickered.

"Archangel?"

"Wake up, Sammy." Gabriel snapped his fingers and started to blur out and Sammy took every ounce of his conscious and shouted, "The name's Sam."

He didn't expect to hear a small whisper, "Whatever, moose."

* * *

Sam sat up in his bed, the dream quickly slipping from his memory. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, trying to understand why he was so agitated. The only thing that had stayed in his memory, clinging unto his back of the head, was two enormous gold wings and a lollipop. Why was a  _lollipop_  associated in his dream with wings?

He sighed and decided to check on his brother. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was time for dinner. He hopped off of bed and tiptoed to Dean's room.

He stood in front of the door and was about to knock on the door when he heard hushed voices and small noises. He chuckled nervously to himself, turning a bit red. They probably are making out like crazy. He left them alone and went down to make something for himself, wondering who could be the one who was accompanied by the wings he saw in his dream.

They looked a bit mischievous but mysterious.


	6. Attacked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, now there are mention of mature themes and non-con in this chapter. don't like i'm sorry, but they have important factors for future chapters so do try and read even if you don't like.  
> hope you enjoy ^^

They were finally past the stage where they realized that they had something that went deeper than any kind of connection. That they have something so profound they would have to ask themselves occasionally how they have survived without the other before meeting.

And now… it was time.

The pull they had transferred from their souls to their bodies and the clash of bodies had ignited the light, like between the woods. As they melded as one, the older one placed his hand over the younger one's shoulder, while the younger one placed his hand on the other's chest.

Heavy breaths and pants, with the other's name on their lips like prayers. In this union they joined bodies and, unknowingly, souls.

"Dean…" Castiel breathed heavily when they lied on the bed, tired and spent. "Dean. I…"

"Me too," Dean whispered back into his friend's ear. "Me too, Cas."

"Did you feel that?" Castiel drew away his hand and was awed to see his handprint on Dean's shoulder, "Oh no, what have I done?"

Dean looked at his shoulder and immediately withdrew his hand from Castiel' chest, revealing another handprint, only it was his hand's shape.

"What the hell happened to us?" They looked at each other with fear in their eyes. Dean came to his senses first and hugged Castiel firmly, covering him with his body. "Don't you worry, Cas. I'll make sure nothing will happen to us. I love you and what we have now… it was my first and the best thing that could ever happen to me."

"You were my first as well," Castiel smiled and shifted so Dean was lying on the bed and he was sprawled over him. He traced Dean's shoulder, where the handprint was still bright red. "Does it hurt?"

"No, yours?"

"Not at all, it feels…"

"Right?"

"Yes…"

"We sure ain't normal, are we?" Dean chuckled.

"Apparently not," Castiel chuckled as well.

"Should we get dressed and get down before Sammy thinks we blew ourselves up?"

Castiel chuckled and they quickly got up and dressed, not able to keep their hands off of each other. Dean drank in how otherworldly his friend,  _lover?_  looked, his dark hair almost like a dark halo around his slightly chubby face, looking almost angelic.

_As if he was an angel._

"I thought you didn't like people staring," Castiel grinned, noticing his friend's eyes glued at him. Dean blushed and looked away. "'m sorry."

Castiel chuckled and stalked to him, wrapping his arms around his torso, burying his face in his chest. "It's okay, I love it." He had never had someone look at him like that, like he was the wonder of the world, like he was  _perfect_.

Dean's eyes softened and he hugged him back, whispering into his earlobe, "I love looking at you. You look so damn angelic I'm tempted to think that somehow you are, and you fell just for me."

Castiel smiled warmly and looked up into Dean's soft green eyes, catching them tight in his gaze. "I'll do more than that to stay with you."

"I'll bet you'll do."

A knock on the door interrupted them and Sam's irritated voice boosted from the other side, "Are you guys finished making out already? Dinner was ready like, an hour ago! How long can people kiss anyway? Come down NOW, or I'll eat them  **myself**!"

The two teens looked at each other, wide eyed, their peals of laughter barely contained. When the telltale of Sam's stomps on the stairs could be heard, they exploded and almost fell down laughing, only able to stay up by holding each other up. Dean choked on his laughs. "He-he thought that-that we were-"

" _Only_   _making out_!" Castiel finished breathless, tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks as he tried to stifle his laughter.

"And here I thought he had a dirty mind, but he is totally innocent."

"We should go down, don't we?" Castiel elbowed him and winked at him.

Dean nodded and held his hand, walking downstairs while holding his eyes with such adoration he couldn't but blush and wish that they could stay like this forever.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Sam folded his arms and huffed when they finally got to the kitchen.

Dean and Castiel exchanged amused looks and shook their heads, chuckling. Sam pouted but gave them the makeshift eggs and toasts he made. He blushed and told them to stuff it because that's all he knows how to make when Dean snorted and said that he could do a better job. Castiel rolled his eyes and nudged Dean, telling him to apologize and thank his brother for even bothering to prepare them something at all. Sam smiled at him gratefully while Dean huffed but apologized to his brother anyway.

They sat down and talked civilly for a while until Castiel felt it was getting late and that he should return home. Dean nodded and offered him a ride back home. Castiel smiled and agreed, seeing no reason to say no.

Sam asked if he can come, but the two of them said simultaneously 'No!' so Sam scoffed and said, "Fine! Do whatever you want, just don't blame me if your father gets angry with you for getting  _too_  late."

"Don't worry, shrimp, we'll be fine," Dean rolled his eyes but ruffled his brother's hair affectionately.

They were out of the door before Sam could protest and went straight into the impala. When Castiel was seated, Dean leaned toward him and kissed him longingly before returning to his seat and starting the engine. Castiel sat in his place, a bit dazed.

"You okay?" Dean quirked a brow at him.

"A bit surprised, that's all."

"Why? I kiss you all the time," But mentally, Dean was ecstatic to hear that like him, Cas considered every kiss to be their first one.

Castiel noticed his little smile and smiled brightly back at him. "Because."

Dean sled out of the parking spot and swiftly drove, not able to wipe off the smile that spread on his lips. "Well, let's hope I'll still be able to surprise you even years from now."

"And then people will look at us weirdly, wondering if you were stalking me," Castiel said, a mischievous spark in his eyes.

Dean laughed. "Damn, Cas, you're killing me! Me? Stalking you? I thought it was  _you_  who tried to make me talk at class."

Castiel fluttered his eyelashes innocently, a mock-hurt expression on his face. "You are accusing me of stalking? I'm innocent!"

"Yeah and I'm Bob Dylan."

"Really? But you look more like-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Cas, or I swear…"

"Swear what, Dean? Surprise me again?" Castiel was smirking evilly now and Dean chuckled, pulling at his house.

"Good idea." He gave him another kiss on the lips, grinning when Castiel's smirk was gone and replaced by a warm smile.

"Guess I'll have to be satisfied by that for now. Goodnight, Dean." He pecked Dean before rushing to his house.

Dean touched his lips and smiled before driving away from Castiel's house.

* * *

Just two minutes from his house, a voice behind him startled him. "Finally! I thought I would never get a chance to be with you alone."

Dean almost wrecked the car, and immediately pulled the car on the side of the street. He quickly turned around, but found no one. He relaxed a bit when the voice said 'over here' this time from his right. He looked to the passenger seat when he met with two cold dark eyes.

He turned to the door and tried to open it, but the door was tight locked and wouldn't budge. He turned back to the man seating before him, who was looking pleased with himself.

"Okay, I'll bite, who are you and what do you want?" He demanded, feeling panic creep into him. He felt darkness enveloping the man and could barely make out dark smoke filling the car.

He choked and tried to breathe when the man leaned closer and brushed his hair, filling the gap between them with dark smoke. Dean swatted his hand away and tried to back as much as possible from the creepy man, but then felt invisible hands hold him tight and not letting him lift a finger. The man chuckled at his expression and cupped his face. "You're so beautiful, my angel."

"Get away from me, you pervert!" Dean protested, his body frozen and feeling as if he was full of the dark smoke that was getting thicker and darker, clouding his sight and filling his lungs. He rasped, "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to finally speak to you, Dean," The man smiled sadistically. "Your soul is one of the brightest I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot in my time, angel. Every time I see you-"

"Shut up!" This guy was insane, and he had a feeling that if he won't do anything, at this rate he'll be-

"Oh, but I want to talk to you, let you know finally that I still exist. You know, I've been looking for you for millenniums, but every time I got even this much close, you would disappear and I would have to look for you from scratch, angel."

"You're insane, I'm seventeen! And stop calling me angel!" He felt anger and something else bubble inside him and panicked, what was this man doing to him? "Who are you?"

"I'm Alistair, the demon of tortures," The man shrugged and traced Dean's clothed chest with his hand, leaving cold terror in Dean's body. "And you, my boy, are the most beautiful thing I've seen. I really want to ruin that soul, make you what you really are, a demon like me, so we could be together forever," He now moved his hand under his shirt, feeling the muscles underneath.

"Go to hell!" Dean bit back, praying to anyone to save him from this predicament.

"Been there for a while, my dear. Such amazing place, if you ask me," The man licked his lips in anticipation and inched closer to Dean's face. His foul breath full of sulfur and blood puffing on Dean's face, making him cough and daze off.

"Leave me alone…" He felt his strength leaving him. Is that it? He was going to get raped without able to defend himself? Let this man have his way with him? What about Cas? Would he try to rape him as well? He felt rage bubble inside of him and he embraced the sensation, letting it consume him.

Without his notice, his eyes started to glow and Alistair clasped his hands, "Yes, Dean. Keep it up, angel. Show me what you've got."

Dean bit his lip and landed a punch on the man, sending him flying from the window, which was accidentally open and crash to the street, and at the same moment, a honk was heard and a car drove over the man.

Dean sled back to his seat, breath erratic and eyes wide as saucers. His hands shook when he turned to the wheel and sped the hell out of there, not hearing the ambulance's siren and the people with the cameras surrounding the dead body.

* * *

He parked his car and rushed to his room, ignoring Sam's yells at him and slammed the door behind him, falling to the bed, his hands hugging his shaking body, trying to protect himself now that he had the chance to.

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god! He was about to get raped! Raped! By a man that somehow managed to get into his car while he was driving Cas home. Oh, god, what if he had tried to pull a move while Cas was in there? He started crying and muffled them with his fist, not wanting Sam to get the wrong idea. How did a psycho get on his tail? Why him? And how the hell did he manage to lock the door like that without him noticing? How did he immobilize him without even touching him? What the hell was going on?!

He frantically looked everywhere, trying to find a way to relax and suddenly his fingers brushed something. He looked down to see that it was a picture of his and Castiel at the lake, smiling gummy smiles at the camera. He relaxed as he traced Castiel's features with his thumb, his tears falling on it and sliding down. Then he smiled. Castiel always managed to calm him and always brought happiness to his dull and poor life. Without him, or Sammy, he would bitten a bullet a long time ago.

"Dean?" Sam's timid voice came from behind the door and made him jump, for a moment scared that the man was back. But it can't be. He threw him out of the window and a car drove over him; if he's not dead, he's at the hospital.

"Y-yes? Is something wrong?" He winched when his voice cracked a bit.  
"You okay? You sound… did something happen with Cas?"

Dean snorted and laughed. "No way, Sammy. Cas and I are still together."

The boy sighed in relief. "I see. Well… goodnight, big brother."

"Goodnight, Sammy," Dean's eyes softened, seriously, what would he do without his family?

The padding faded out and he lied back on the bed, rubbing his face and debating whether to call Cas or not… he didn't want to make him worried or bother him. But on the other hand, he really needed someone to talk to.

Luckily, it appeared that Castiel had the same idea, because the house phone rang and he scurried to it before it woke Sammy up.

"Winchester," he said, for a brief moment having a fear if that was that man again, but he pushed the thought out of his mind the minute it came and smiled when Castiel's voice echoed through the phone.

" _Dean?_ " His voice was worried.

"Yes, Cas? Did something happen?"

" _I just saw the news, and…_ "

"What's wrong? What did you see?" He went to his room, thanking god that the phone was wireless.

" _There was a person that was driven over and I think that I saw for a moment your car driving by it. Did you see who got hurt?_ "

Dean froze, his body felt the hands creeping up again and he started shaking so hard the phone fell to the floor and Castiel's slightly frantic voice ' _Dean? Dean!_ ' went ignored while he curled into himself, trying to keep off the memories of the hands and the dark smoke, choking him up, making him feel dirty. He felt his body shake as he sobbed silently and tried to recollect himself.

" _Dean! Answer me! What's wrong?_ "

Dean choked. "He touched me."

" _Dean?_ " Castiel sounded confused.

"H-he called me his angel… h-he said th-that he was looking for me…"

" _What do you mean?! I can't hear you! Dean! If you don't answer me right now I'm going back to your house!_ "

"No!" Dean cried and grasped the phone, "I'm here, okay? Don't you  _dare_  leave your house!"

" _Okay, fine, I won't. Now what happened? You got quiet when I mentioned that -_ "

"He was hiding in my car!" He bit his lip, cursing himself for saying that.

" _Who? Was that the guy?_ "

"He was there when I drove away from your house and I stopped the car because he startled me by saying hello from the backseat," The plug was off and the words spilled from his mouth and he told exactly what had happened after he drove away, all he knew about at least.

" _Oh my god! Are you okay, Dean? Wait, of course you're not! I'm coming there right n-_ "

"No! What if he's out of the hospital and would come after you?" Dean couldn't believe his friend was that foolish. Did he want to be assaulted or something?

" _He's dead, Dean._ " Dean froze. He managed to kill the guy? Was he a killer now for sure?

As if he could read his mind, Castiel sighed. " _But not from the car, but from something else. So it wasn't your fault_."

Dean stopped dead in his tracks. "What do you mean?"

" _Even the doctors were a bit skeptic about him. Apparently his body was already dead for a while._ "

"So are you telling me I was hallucinating that a  _dead_  guy was feeling m-"

" _No! God no! Even if I hope it was that. It's just that the body felt cold as if it dead for a few days and a strong smell of sulfur came from it. They think it might be something about body disintegrating and then was completely shut down by the car._ "

"I don't know, he looked pretty alive to me," He shuddered. "Can we drop it? I…"

" _Oh Lord! I'm so sorry, Dean. How could I even think of talking about that bastard-_ "

"It's okay, Cas. I'm just… tired… and shaken up, basically."

" _Okay. Goodnight, Dean. Please call me, anytime. I want you to take care of yourself, understood?_ "

Dean smiled. "I will. And Cas?"

" _Hmm…?_ "

"Thank you."

" _Don't thank me. I wasn't able to protect you,_ " Castiel growled.

"Yeah, you did. You saved me from doing something foolish and you… I love you."

" _I love you too. Please be careful._ "

"I will… bye."

" _…goodnight, Dean,_ " Castiel hung up.

Dean let the phone fall on the bed and let himself sink into the mattress, his arm going up to cover his face, hiding the new fallen tears on his dump cheeks.

* * *

Castiel was frantic, what kind of person would think that he can just force himself on someone, on a  _kid_?! He was pacing in his room, not able to sleep, having the worst images coming to him with someone trying to make Dean do something against his will. He clenched his hands so hard that he was drawing blood from his palm. He gritted his teeth when he felt the pain. He growled. How could he let Dean get attacked like that? He should have known there was someone in the car! He should've protected Dean. He choked and covered his face, shaking. His friend and lover was about to get… to get… he can't even think of that! He can't let himself admit that Dean… oh Lord, Dean was  _defenseless_  and he couldn't do anything about that. What kind of a friend was he?

A knock startled him and Chuck hesitantly opened the door, looking grim.

Castiel rushed to his father and hugged him tight. "Father! I'm so sorry!  
"What's wrong, my boy?" Chuck hugged him back, baffled. "Is it about Dean?"

He nodded. "What happened?"

"He was attacked!"

"By whom?" Chuck felt dread wash him over, it couldn't be…

"By a guy called Alistair. He was saying he was looking for him for a long time! He was stalking Dean and he just tried to  _rape_  him! I can't believe I couldn't protect him!"

"Castiel, relax!" Castiel went slack and Chuck sighed, he could never get lucky, could he? "Tell me exactly what happened."

So Castiel sat him down and told him everything that Dean told him. And every word he said made his father's eyes grow wider and sadder. He thought it was from fear, but actually it was from shock; because he saw something in one of his headaches that told him about his son's friend's being in danger.

"It'll be fine, Castiel. He's dead and Dean is safe, isn't that the most important thing?"

His son nodded, unconvinced.

"I think what you did was very important. Dean needs to know that he has someone to rely upon after what had occurred."

Castiel smiled faintly and Chuck told him to go to sleep before exiting the room and going to his room, determined not to wave off his headaches as nothing ever again.


	7. Outing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The calm before the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here is the last arc before everything blows up, so enjoy some fluffy destiel and sam/jess.  
> hope you like it.  
> i know Dean is OOC, but what can i do? he's a bit different in this univesre.

_“Dean…”_

He groaned and asked the voice to shut up.

_“Dean… wake up…”_

“Don’t wanna…” He slurred.

_“Dean… It’s Cas…”_

He opened one eye and saw Castiel hovering over him with worried eyes. He groaned and tried to wave the boy away. “’m tired, wanna sleep.”

“You’ve been sleeping for the whole day already. Sammy is worried about you… and I am as well.”

Dean snorted. “Do you worry ab-” and suddenly the memories from last night came rushing back to him and he stiffened.

Castiel creased his forehead, “Are you okay, Dean?” He sat down and brushed Dean’s hair. Dean instinctively slapped the hand away, taken back to the scene from the previous night. “Don’t touch me, pervert!”

“Dean?”

He blinked and saw Castiel, hurt written all over his face, and he realized what he just did. “Oh no, I’m so sorry, Cas. What have I done?” He shook and felt Castiel embrace him, kissing his hair.

“It’s okay, Dean. Shh… I’m so sorry. It must’ve reminded you about that bastard. I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

Dean clutched his shirt, his trembling fading a bit as he smelt Castiel’s unique smell: rain and leather. He smiled and placed his hand where the handprint was, peering from under the white shirt. Castiel drew a sudden breath and placed his hand on his handprint on his left shoulder.

“We are connected in such a way no one had ever been before, aren’t we?” Dean whispered, not wanting to ruin the tranquil silence.

“Yes, we do, Dean,” Castiel whispered back. “And I won’t have it any other way.”

“Me too. I love you.” Castiel smiled and slowly placed them on the bed, lying by each other, their hands still fitted on their corresponding handprints. “I promise you I’ll do anything in my power to make sure you won’t get hurt ever again.”

“You don’t have to promise, I’m safe with you no matter what you’ll do,” Dean returned the gesture and kissed him slowly on the lips.

“What gives?” Castiel smirked when they drew away. “You usually not this ‘chicky flicky’.”

Dean pouted at him. “Shut up, feathers.”

At Castiel’s growing smirk he sighed exasperatedly. “I… I just can’t be anything else with you… I don’t know… you corrupted me, you know that?”

“Hmm…?”

“Before I met you, I was an outcast and I never talked to anybody. The only things I did were what my dad asked me to; be a man, take care of Sammy. I was told that boys didn’t cry, that they didn’t have ‘chick flick’ moments and yadda yadda yadda. But when I met you… I changed. I couldn’t put that mask anymore, couldn’t listen to my father’s words anymore. I had to get away from the suffocating orders he gave me. You… became my world, alongside Sammy. I couldn’t think of anything else than you. Did you know that you were the first student I talked to since my father died?”

Castiel shook his head, baffled, thinking that Dean was quite popular seeing the looks he sometimes received from the other students.

“Yep,” Dean chuckled. “You just came rushing in, like a storm, invading my space and making me talk to you. You know how annoyed I was by your annoying methods to make me talk to you? I wanted to punch you, but I’m glad I didn’t.”

“Because that would’ve made me ditch my efforts to make friends with you,” Castiel rolled his eyes, sarcasm notable in his voice.

“Well, I didn’t know what your deal was back then. I was pretty 'angsty' at that time, too. But after we started switching notes I just couldn’t seem to ignore you anymore and I wanted… to be your friend, as weird as it sounded at the time.”

“Well… I wanted to be your friend the minute I saw your eyes,” Castiel admitted, blushing. “I remembered when we talked about how to be a friend and you started crying because I said that I was honored being your best friend.”

Dean buried his face in his hands. “Don’t remind me. It’s the most embarrassing moment in my life. I think I just turned into a girl back then.”

“It was okay. I was happy that you trusted me enough to lower you walls for me.”

Dean was red. “Can we just stop talking about the first day we met? I don’t think I can handle this.”

His friend smirked at him, but dropped the topic and they snuggled unto each other, showering kisses on each other’s faces.

“We should go down for dinner.” Castiel pressed a kiss on Dean’s nose. “You haven’t eaten all day and you haven’t eaten proper dinner yesterday either. You’ll starve if you continue that.”

“But I’m not hungry,” Dean shrugged but let himself be pulled from the bed and down the stairs to the kitchen.

“Dean!” Sam rushed to him and tackled him, bringing the both of them to the ground. “I was so worried, you jerk.”

“Relax, Bitch, I’m fine,” Dean ruffled his hair, smiling at the pouty face he received. “I’m not lying, I’m fine now. But thanks, buddy.”

Sam was still skeptic but let him get up and eat his dinner while being dragged away by Castiel.

Dean smiled at Castiel, acting like a father to Sam. He then mused what it would be like to have children with Cas, and then he shook his head at the ridiculous idea. They are only teenagers, for Christ’s sake, and here he is, already thinking of having children with Cas? There is seriously something wrong with him.

They had one week of vacation left before returning back to school and he couldn’t believe this much had happened in one week. He felt as if his world had been turned upside down; weird stuff starting to happen, light appearing everywhere, people claiming themselves to be demons and trying to…, he couldn’t finish the thought. The handprints, and what he had with Castiel, what they did.

Dread crept in his bones. What if they were signs of something bigger that was just waiting to happen? What if he and his family were being dragged into something bigger than he can ever apprehend? He had to protect them, even if it would cost himself.

He finished the food, determined to keep them safe, and washed the dishes, noting that there was only the cereal bowls, meaning that they haven’t eaten all day as well. He sighed, then smiled warmly, thinking about what to make them for dinner.

* * *

“What are you doing, Dean?” Castiel wrapped his arms around Dean’s waist, making him jump a bit and stiffen, and Castiel cursed himself for forgetting that Dean was still very sensitive after last night.

“Cooking?”

“Why?”

“Because apparently, the two of you are hypocrites.”

“Oh?” What did they do now?

“You didn’t eat as well and you accuse me of starving myself? At least I was asleep. So who’s the worst one?” Dean winked at him and returned to the pot.

“I apologize for Sammy being such a bad influence on me.” Castiel rolled his eyes and kissed Dean’s neck.

Dean hummed, poured the pot’s steaming contents unto three plates and then proceeded to clean the pot. He turned to Castiel and pecked him before shoving two plates into his arms. “Go and eat it with Sammy. Put some meat on your bones. You’re skinnier than my little bro, and he’s four years _younger_.”

Castiel rolled his eyes but took the plates and called for Sam to come down and have some food. Sam scurried down, his stomach rumbling when he smelt the cooked pasta bologna, and almost wolfed down the food, making the two teens laugh.

“You’re a great cook, Dean,” Castiel admitted when they finished. “I think it is part of why we didn’t eat. We were waiting for you to make something for us.”

“Now you’re just sucking up to me, Cas,” Dean grimaced and Castiel shook his head and kissed Dean. “You’re an amazing person, Dean, never doubt it.”

“Thanks, trench coat.” Dean kissed him back.

“You guys!” They broke apart and looked at Sam, who was covering his eyes, bright red. “There is a _child_ in the room!”

“Sorry, Sammy, forget you were here,” They chuckled.

“I feel like a parent,” Castiel giggled.

Dean blushed, and when Castiel asked why he was blushing, he ignored him and teased Sam about being naïve little kid.

Castiel pouted, not likening being ignored by his friend, and wrapped his arms around his shoulders and nuzzled his neck.

“Cas…” Dean sighed, a shiver going down his spine from where Cas’ lips touched.

“Hmmm… I don’t like being ignored, Dean…” He grinned and kissed his hair line.

“Sammy is here, Cas!” Dean protested, pointing at the red kid.

Castiel considered that and peered from Dean’s back, “Don’t you have to talk with Jess? You haven’t called her since we came back from Lawrence River.”

“I’ve been talking to her.” Sam grumbled but rushed up the stairs, slamming the door after him.

“Now, then.” Castiel smirked darkly and went back to nuzzling Dean’s neck.

“C-Cas…” Dean’s eyes fluttered close when Cas’ palm brushed over his handprint. Castiel smiled, “Yes?”

“W-we are in the middle of the kitchen…”

“And?”

“C-Cas!” Dean protested when Castiel brushed the handprint again, making him feel tingle all over.

“What? I like doing that. Does it hurt?” Castiel innocently asked, his voice rasp.

“N-no~ can we go to my room?” Dean whined, his face flushed, hating himself for sounding this desperate.

Castiel snickered and pulled him up to his room.

 

“Hi, Jess,” Sam sighed in relief when his ‘girlfriend’ picked up.

“ _Hi, Sam, how are you doing?_ ” Jess sounded happy to hear from him and he smiled, feeling confident again.

“I’m fine, even though I just had to see my brother and his boyfriend making out in the kitchen.”

Jess laughed. “ _Oh, poor you._ ”

“I know~” He smiled. “How’s your parents?”

“ _Doing better. They had finally talked things over and realized the reason they were fighting a lot. I don’t know what it was, though. They just told me that they had solved everything now._ ”

“I’m glad for you Jess.”

“ _And I’m glad that everything seems to be better with your family also. Dean’s getting his first love accepted? And you finally asked me out._ ”

“That was months ago!” Sam blushed.

“ _Well, I consider every time you call me as a love confession,_ ” Jess admitted, a bit embarrassed.

“Really?”

“ _You have any idea how long I’ve waited for you to ask me out?!_ ”

Sam smiled giddily. “Why didn’t you ask me first, then?”

Jess sounded sheepish. “ _Because my mom told me that boys ask first, not the girls. She said about being desperate and I didn’t want you to hate me for being like that._ ”

“What?! I could never hate you!” Sam protested, annoyed by her mother. “How could she think that I’d think like that?”

“ _Sammy, you’re much more mature for your age than other boys your age. Also I have a friend who asked her crush and he turned her down because of that reason. I guess I am just naïve._ ”

“Well, you’re a kid like me.” Sam sighed. “We’re only twelve. Well, I’m almost thirteen, but you get the idea. Dean is only seventeen and he acted like my father since he was four years old.”

“ _I just can’t believe your father had put you through that lifestyle. I think you two are very strong young men._ ”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“ _You didn’t make Dean’s life hell like every kid does to their parents. You tried to make his life easier and you can’t really work either._ ”

“But Dean d-”

“ _Dean is another story, Sam. Don’t compare yourself to him, because you’ll never be him. You’re you and that’s what I like._ ”

“Thank you, Jess.” Sam felt his eyes water in gratitude.

“ _Just telling the truth, Silly._ ”

“You know you act mature for your age as well?” Sam wanted to praise her as well, because she deserved to be praised for eternity, in his opinion.

He got a chuckle in return. “ _Well… unlike boys, we girls mature faster, so I’m pretty normal for my age. But thank you, Sammy._ ” Jess sounded amused.

“I see… do… do you want us to meet somewhere tomorrow?” Sam flushed, praying she would say yes.

“ _Of course I want! Where do you want to meet up?_ ” Jess asked excitedly, sounding like a child getting a treat, which she kind of was.

“U-umm… how about the zoo? I’ll ask Dean to give us a ride tomorrow.”

“ _That sounds great!_ _Ten A.M._ _?_ ”

“Sure, meet at my house?”

“ _Sure. See you tomorrow!_ ” She cheered.

“Goodnight, Jess,” He smiled.

“ _Goodnight, Sammy._ ” She hung up.

Sammy let his smile grow bigger as he dropped the house phone on the table and snuggled to the covers and fell asleep.

* * *

“Next time you wake me up so early in the morning to give you a ride I’m going to pummel yer ass, fucking bitch,” Dean cursed when they had finally entered the car after Sam jumped on his bed he was sharing with Cas, dumped on him water and made him get dressed up quickly to bring him and his little girlfriend to the zoo. Annoying brats.

“I feel like a friggin’ father,” He muttered to himself, but smiled when Castiel sat shotgun by him and gave him his charming smile, one that shone even in the mornings, after he got his cup of coffee.

“Maybe we somehow got ourselves two kids,” Castiel teased him, his smile turning unto a smirk.

Sam and Jess had been excited going on this ‘date’, even when Dean said that he has to come with them because they’re too young to be left alone, although it probably had more to do with what happened to Sam. Dean didn’t want him to go anywhere without supervision.

When they entered the zoo, the two kids where ecstatic and hopped everywhere to see the animals and talked about geeky stuff while the two teens strolled after them, enjoying the serene place.

“I like this place,” Castiel told Dean, sliding his hand into his friend’s. Dean beamed at him and squeezed his hand. “Yeah, me too. Maybe we should return here, just the two of us.”

“That would be nice.” Castiel closed his eyes and leaned on Dean’s shoulder.

They were a lot of families in the green place, but somehow the place was silent and the serene nature the only thing that was heard. It was relaxing and Dean felt his tension leave his body.

Sam and Jess returned to where they were and were not surprised to see Dean and Castiel sitting on one of the benches, sleeping with their heads pressing together and hands intertwined.

“I think they were exhausted because of this week.” Sam smiled affectionately at them and motioned to Jess to sit next him.

“What happened this week except for your road trip?” Jess complied with him and sat down, mimicking Castiel’s pose.

Sam grimaced. “Dean had nightmares and two days ago something happened to him while he returned from Cas’. I don’t know what, but it shook him pretty bad and Cas was the one to take care of him because Dean didn’t want me to know what happened.”

Jess rubbed his back reassuringly. “Big brothers don’t want their little brothers to worry. I know that for a fact, because I have a younger brother as well, and when our parents fought, I felt that I needed to protect him from the shouting and accusing, so I pretended everything was alright and took him away when the shouting begun.”

“I… I didn’t know…” Sam looked wide eyed at her, and hugged her when her eyes begun to water.

“It’s hard, you know? It’s so exhausting to act day and night, even during your sleep, because then you have to help him sleep through nightmares or loneliness. It never ends, so Dean is lucky to have you and Cas watching his back and helping him.”

“But you have me and Dean and Cas watching your back as well,” Sam reassured her.

Jess smiled at him and then Castiel woke up and looked at them settling down and smiled warmly. “I see you two are getting comfortable down there.”

The two pre-teens jumped and flushed. “ _Cas!_ ”

“Shh… Dean’s asleep.” Castiel winked at them, amused by their reactions.

They pouted and walked away to look at more animals, leaving him and Dean alone on the bench and Castiel smirked, smug that he got what he wanted – to stay alone with Dean. He glanced at his friend and noted the relaxed features and the way his quite large hand was enclosing over his, keeping it from going away, as if Castiel even wanted to. He raised his free hand and brushed it over Dean’s handprint, feeling as if he was touching his own skin and Dean gave a small moan and he smiled, kissing his hair.

“I’m going to protect you, Dean. I’m not going to let any psychopath touch you. You’re safe with me,” He murmured into his hair, breathing in the smell of sun and grease. He chuckled; apparently Dean wasn’t able to wash away the work at the garage even though it was a week ago when he had last worked.

“So my hair smells funny?” Dean’s sleepy voice rasped and Castiel laughed.

“Maybe?”

“I hate you,” He pouted.

“And I love you too,” Castiel replied, enjoying Dean’s blush.

“Where are Sammy and Jess?”

“They went back to look for animals. It appears that I caught them in a private moment and they got flustered by that,” Castiel replied nonchalantly.

Dean rolled his eyes and laughed, amused by Castiel’s indifference about interrupting other people privacy.

Castiel smiled and kissed him. Surprised, Dean kissed back, touching Castiel’s handprint. Castiel blushed and pressed his hand on his shoulder.

“W-we should stop before we get kicked out,” Dean panted when they drew away and Castiel looked around them, noticing the mothers covering the eyes of their children and the fathers looking at them in distaste and grimaced, “Idiots.”

“Let’s get the kids and go back home. I thought of taking them out to see a movie or something like that.”

“That would be lovely. They went this way.” They rushed to the reptile house.

* * *

"Look at that!” Sam pointed at a large black lizard with patches of orange and Jess looked at the plaque next to it.

“It says it’s a Gila monster from southern Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico, in the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. It’s an endangered animal. Isn’t that cool?”

Sam’s eyes lit up and followed the lazily strolling lizard up the sand mount. Jess joined him, but couldn’t shake the feeling that the lizard was trying to tell her something, which was ridiculous, she means, a lizard trying to tell her something? Has she gone mad?

“There you are!” They turned to Castiel and Dean entering the reptile section with face splitting grins and holding hands, promptly ignoring the stares and the whispers from the adults in the room.

Sam felt like punching those idiots, how dare they look at Dean and Cas like that? His brother had every right to love anyone he wants, not to mention that Cas is the first one besides him to make Dean this happy.

Jessica glared at the adults and they looked away, some with disgusted faces and some smiling and shrugging to themselves. She knew they were people that didn’t acknowledge Dean and Cas’ relationship, but they didn’t have to be so bold about it, she bristled.

“What’s wrong with your squinty faces?” Dean grinned and ruffled their hairs when they walked outside.

“Dean! How could you have _not_ seen how they’d looked at you? They have no right to-”

“Sam,” Dean hushed him with a dangerous tone, his eyes narrowing. “Every person has the right to believe the fuck they want, and I, as hell, don’t have a right to tell them otherwise.”

“But-”

“No ‘buts’, Sam. Your brother is right.” Castiel interrupted and looked at Dean for conformation, which Dean complied by nodding and pecking his cheek, causing him to blush.

Jess clasped her hands. “How about we go eat somewhere? We haven’t eaten all day and I’m sure all of you are starving.” She changed the topic.

Dean looked at her gratefully and pumped his fist up. “Hell yeah! What do you want to eat, my ladies?”

“Dean, there is only one lady in this group.” Castiel deadpanned, “Sam and I are boys.”

Dean sighed. “You don’t have to ruin every punch line I say, Cas. It was meant to be a joke.” He dug his fist into Castiel’s hair, rubbing it and causing his friend to protest.

“Dean!” Said teen laughed and released him, and he stepped back protecting his messed up hair. Dean leaned closer to Castiel’s ear and whispered huskily, “You look so damn cute right now, I would’ve kissed you senseless if those kids weren’t here.” Castiel turned so red it made the younger two blush, wondering what Dean had told him.

The shorter teen pouted and folded his arms. “Dean, you should not have those thoughts in the middle of _zoo_.”

Dean laughed. “’m joking, _joking_ , Cas.”

Castiel ignored him and he scowled. “Come on Cas, don’t ignore me!”

Castiel took Sam’s and Jess’ hands and walked them out of the zoo, with Dean scoffing behind them, his hands in his pockets.

People sniggered and he sent them a death glare, which made them look away with smirks. He frowned and looked down, hurt evident in his features.

Castiel looked back at him and took pity in him and went up to him, cupping his face. Dean looked up, at Castiel’s blue eyes and looked down again. “’m sorry, Cas, you probably got hurt by them and didn’t want them to know we’re together. I’m sorry I didn’t notice.”

“Shut your mouth, Dean,” Castiel ordered him and he clamped his mouth shut in shame. Castiel sighed and pecked him on the lips and side-smiled when his friend looked up in shock. “Dean, I was not hurt by them, I was simply embarrassed. I’m not used to hearing those things in public, so I don’t know if it’s appropriate. I have no intentions of hurting you. I was simply punishing you.” He smirked slightly.

Dean tried to smile, but failed and just rested his forehead on Castiel’s. “I thought I’d done it this time and that you didn’t want me anymore.”

“Never!” Castiel was horrified that Dean could ever think of that. “I’d never get enough from you, believe me!”

This time, a genuine smile split Dean’s lips and he took Castiel’s hand by his and marched the weird group/family to the most expensive diner he could afford, not counting Cas’ money that he wasn’t even going to take, no matter what.


	8. Goodnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, NOW it is the last episode before the shit hits the fan. sorry for dragging you along because of my idiocity.  
> enjoy and leave comments.  
> spn is not mine

“Dean, you have to eat more than that,” Castiel scolded Dean who had only ordered a cup of coffee and a _small_ plate of pie. Dean shrugged and sipped his cup in silence, scanning the diner.

He had a bad feeling and he really didn’t want to eat, his gut-feeling taking away his appetite, not to mention he wasn’t hungry at all, not even for his pie, but one had to keep appearances.

“I’m just not hungry,” Dean mumbled at the end and looked at Sam and Jess, who were sharing a big plate of salad and chicken. Castiel took his black coffee and hamburger that he loved so much.

“Dean, you haven’t eaten all day and you’re still not hungry?” Castiel asked, bewildered. “Are you sure you okay?”

“I’m fine! Can you stop being such a mother-hen,” He sighed and patted Castiel’s hand. “I’m just tired, that’s all. I haven’t been hungry multiple times, this is one of them.”

“Just tell us if you don’t feel well,” His friend pleaded and Dean nodded, satisfied that the conversation was over and he went to poke on his pie, slowly eating it, savoring the taste.

The waitress came to them and asked if they wanted anything else. Dean shook his head and smiled at her, completely oblivious to his charm making her blush. Castiel noticed and elbowed him. When Dean looked at him, confused, Castiel held his hand and glared at the waitress.

“We’re quite fine, Ms. Smith,” He looked pointedly at her name tag. “You can leave us alone.”

The waitress flushed and scoffed at him, turning and walking away in a huff. Dean looked bewildered at his smug friend. “What the hell was that?”

“She was taking your smile as a cue to flirt with you.” Castiel frowned darkly and Dean’s eyes grew wide, never seeing his friend like this.

Sam and Jess sniggered. “And here I thought Cas was the socially awkward one when it’s actually my brother.”

“Well, your brother doesn’t know his smile does magic.” Jess pointed out and smirked at the blushing teens.

“I was just being nice to her,” Dean protested. “It’s not a crime!”

“You using your smile? Yes, it’s,” Sam countered back.

“Bitch.”

“Jerk. Look what you did to Cas! He’s completely smitten over your smile.”

Castiel flushed. “Th-that’s not true.”

Dean turned to him and subconsciously smiled brightly. “Really?”

Castiel shifted awkwardly in his place. “Y-yes… l-like now…”

Dean smile got even broader and pecked him on the cheek. “Well, I think I get the same feeling when I see you in the morning and you’re smiling.”

His friend smiled shyly to himself, the teens forgetting the other two kids in the table, now talking about different things. The younger couple pumped fists, celebrating their small victory.

* * *

 

“What movie do you want to see?” Dean gestured to the small movie center they were currently in. “It’s my treat, so choose well.”

“Why do you look at me when you say that?” Sam pouted and Dean smirked. “Because you pick up the worst movies, Sammy.”

“The name’s Sam!”

“So?” Dean asked, ignoring his brother.

Jess and Castiel looked at each other and smiled. “I think we’re going to choose ‘Narnia: the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe’.”

Dean looked a bit skeptic. “Never heard of it, is it good?”

“Amazing!” The duo piped. “The books were amazing and the way they did the movies, although they only did three, is brilliant!”

Dean sighed. “Fine… but if ‘tis bad, I’m having your asses for dinner.”

The duo smirked and the brothers looked at each other, slightly worried.

* * *

Dean actually liked this movie a bit. He was quite captivated by the screen and Castiel smiled when he saw him sniffle a bit when Peter hugged his brother, Edmond after their sister, Lucy, saved him.

Sam and Jess were rumbling about their favorite moments and the one they thought were cool, geeks.

“Let’s go home and I’ll fix some dinner for you, ‘kay?” He marched to the impala.

The trio nodded eagerly, knowing that whatever Dean would make, it would be worthy of a king.

They hurried to the car, piled into it and headed home.

* * *

At home, Dean went straight to the kitchen and started piling the ingredients on the counter. He pondered for a moment about what to make and then decided to make lasagna. He wanted to spoil his family, and although he didn’t make this thing often, he wanted it to be the best day they would remember for a long time. It would help them pass through the dark days that are coming, and god did he pray that his guts were wrong for once.

He busied himself and hummed while he scrambled around the kitchen, pouring his love to, what he think is, his _last_ carefree dinner.

* * *

“Wow!” The trio looked at the perfectly stable pastry and looked up to Dean in wonder. “You made this?!”

“Y-yeah… I thought of making something special to finish this day.” Dean flushed. “I-is it not good?”

“Are you shittin’ us?!” Sam almost screamed.

“Sam, language,” Dean warned.

“But-but it’s perfect!” Sam exclaimed.

Jess almost drooled over the lasagna and asked if they can fight later so they can eat this goodie earlier and the brothers immediately quieted down. Dean cut the lasagna, giving each one a large piece.

They ate in a peaceful silence, and Castiel looked in wonder and happiness at his friend during dinner, making Dean blush harder and busy himself with eating to keep himself from looking over to see the other’s dark blue eyes, filled with something he couldn’t place exactly.

* * *

“Thank you, Dean.” Sam happily patted his full stomach and burped. Jess made a face but then did the same and her boyfriend sent her a knowing look, snickering when she glared at him.

The teens sniggered and smiled at each other. Castiel held his hands with his. “The food was magnificent, Dean, thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” Dean stated a bit smugly, although a bit embarrassed as well. “I’m glad that you liked it.”

“I liked it very much.”

“Guys, could you stop with the chick flicks here?” Sam grinned. “I thought that you hated chick flick moments.”

“You can say that I’d corrupted your brother,” Castiel said, and the pre-teens sniggered while Dean sighed and said that Cas will kill him one day. He got worried. “Do I harm you by being close to you?”

Dean blinked. “What the hell are you talking about?” He stopped, and then laughed. “Oh, Cas, you’re killing me here.” He stopped again and snickered. “Not literary, Cas.”

The older teen’s shoulders slumped in relief and he found himself chuckling with his friend on the absurdness of this scene.

“We have one week left, what would you like to do?” Jess asked when they had calmed down.

The trio looked at each other, having no idea and quite dreading the fact that the vacation is ending so soon. They sat down on the floor in a circle and tried bringing up ideas. Dean suggested going to the park for picnic and they wrote that down. Sam thought about going to see some movies and they noted to look for movies, but Dean said only two at most, because he didn’t want to end up with a belly like some people he knew (and let’s just say that they didn’t look so charming). Jess piped up the idea of going to a fest, and Castiel said that he had read somewhere that a parade was happening in a couple of days, so they wrote that one down as well. Lastly, Castiel said that they could have camp or have a ‘cooking day’ with Dean. They had agreed on that and added that to the list.

They looked over the list and noted that they basically covered almost every day, except for Sunday and Dean offered that they would go to Castiel’s, looking sheepishly at him, asking if it was alright with him. It was more than alright, he thought and nodded at Dean, who seemed to be thrilled and yanked him into a lip-bruising kiss, not minding the kids in the room, who looked away in embarrassment. Castiel laughed and shoved Dean gently from him and reminding him the fact that they are not alone in the room. Dean looked at the kids and turned red himself, sputtering and apologizing to them, who had started laughing and teasing him for turning into such a girl.

Castiel watched them and leaned on the back of the couch; smiling to himself and feeling himself relax and he slowly nodded off. The trio noticed that and started gesturing silently to each other and Dean carefully maneuvered Castiel into his arms and brought him up to his room. He laid him on the bed, smiling affectionately when Castiel slurred something and grasped his hand, adamant at not letting him go. He sighed and slipped into the bed, grateful that he was in his sweatpants and tunic, and embraced his friend, feeling warmth wash him over and fell asleep quickly after kissing the older teen’s forehead and hair.

Castiel cracked open one eye, smiled at the sleeping face of his friend and gave a peck to his lips. He snuggled into his chest, falling back asleep.


	9. Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the calm before the storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY FOR BEING SO LATE!!!! i had finals that went for more than two months and over 25 tests.
> 
> i have tomorrow another final so i decided to disregard it in favor of looking over the chapter before updating it.
> 
> please don't kill me.
> 
>  
> 
> IMPORTANT!!!!:  
> from now on, the chapters are going to be UNBETA'D because my beta don't have time for that, so i'm very sorry if you spot mistakes and very poor grammar because Berny is my savior.  
> enjoy.

He was fishing by the deck, sitting on a very comfortable chair, relaxed. He had his eyes closed, letting the sound of small waves relax him further and ease him into the illusion of peace and tranquility.

_“Hello Dean…”_

He jolted and looked to his side. A man in his late twenties was standing on the deck beside him, looking at him with a familiar face and a soft smile.

“Who are you?” He demanded, the dream three days ago fresh in his mind.

 _“Don’t worry, Dean. I was not the one who talked to you in that nightmare. It was simply Michael trying to get out of his room again.”_ He looked bemused by the thought.

“Well, he did give me quite a fright there, so can you tell him to shut it? And you didn’t answer the question!” Dean snapped, was he getting pranked again or did he eat too much before going to sleep?

 _“Pardon_ _me._ _”_ The man waved his hand and a chair popped by Dean. Dean jumped a bit as the man sat down. _“I can’t really tell you my name yet.”_

“Why the hell not?” Dean was getting frustrated by those riddles. “Can’t anyone talk normally and not speak like the freaking Cheshire cat? I feel like I’m in a Sherlock book or something…”

_“You are not in, what you call, a Sherlock book, Dean. We are in your dream.” The man replied seriously._

Dean deadpanned.

A cough.

 _“It’s just that… I am afraid that I will trigger something… something bad if I tell you,”_ The man admitted. _“Let us just say I’m a figment of your imagination. As you noticed, I’m very familiar to you, well… I am you in some way.”_

And then it struck Dean. The minute the man said that, he realized that the face was like his, only with a hint of wrinkles, portraying a much older face, drained of any innocence and baby fat, making him look wearier.

“What happened? You look… as if the world had been rested on your shoulders,” He noted, biting his lip. “Is that going to be me…?”

_“Yes… and you have that weight on your shoulders quite literary…”_

“What do you mean?”

 _“That, you will have to discover yourself, Dean.”_ The man stood up and cupped Dean’s hands, which were still clutching at the fishing rode, slowly bringing them up. Dean watched in astonishment when they brought up a big whale in the net. He looked at the man, _him_ , and he looked at Dean with a small knowing smile adorning his lips.

_“Don’t worry, Dean. You have the strength to shoulder that burden and you have your family to support you. It is not a sign of weakness to show feelings.”_

Dean nodded, his eyes wet. He looked at the whale, which switched to a man wearing a trench coat. He had large white wings.

He would recognize that face anywhere, even if it was aged by more than a decade. “Cas?”

Castiel’s body flickered and disappeared. Dean blanched and looked back but he found himself standing alone on the deck.

“What the hell?!” He shouted, but it was quiet and he sighed. “Who the hell tells me I have a burden, _then_ tells me it’ll be okay, and _then_ **_leaves the fuck out_**?!”

He felt a hand land on his shoulder and he looked back to see someone towering him with shaggy long hair and kind hazel eyes.

He would recognize _that_ face everywhere, no matter what.

“Sammy?” He choked. Was that his little brother?

Sam nodded and a beautiful woman joined them. Dean looked at her and smiled when Sam wrapped his arm around her. “Jess…”

 _“Don’t worry, brother,”_ Sam said, his eyes sparkling with life. _“We have your back, so don’t you dare back up on me, y’hear that?”_

“Since when do _you_ tell me what to do, little bro?” He asked cockily, a proud smile escaping his lips as he stared at his grown up brother.

Sam’s eyes softened and he swept Dean into a bear hug. Air was getting a bit thinner with how tight Sam hugged him but he didn’t really mind it that much, to be honest. He felt happy, never having been hugged like this, not even by Castiel. He figured that this is how a kid would feel when embraced by his father or by an old relative, and he hugged back with equal force.

“I promise to protect you from anything that would try to harm you,” Dean mumbled.

Sam nodded. _“I know you’d do that, bro, I’ve got faith in you. You had never let me down, Dean.”_

“Not planning to start now.” He thought that it was getting one hell of a chick flick, but it was a dream, no one would know about this but him, and so he let himself relax in the rare warmth.

* * *

He opened his eyes and groaned at the sunlight invading his eyesight. He squinted, looking around only to realize that he was alone. He sat up in alarm. Then hopped off of bed, not bothering to fix anything about his look and sprinted down the stairs.

“Took you long enough.” Castiel and Sam sat by the table, no sight of Jess anywhere. Dean relaxed a bit, but not completely.

“Where is Jess?”

“Home, why?” His tension fled out of him completely and he crashed on the chair by Sam, shrugging.

“So, what do we have?” He eyed the plates and smiled when Castiel placed a plate with bacon and eggs on toasted bread before him. He still didn’t feel hungry, but his appetite was kicking in because of the delicious smell and he devoured the food in a matter of minutes and moaned in appreciation, making Castiel chuckle and his little brother to redden.

“I see you had a nice night. What did you dream of?” Castiel poked a bit.

Dean smiled sadly, eyes distant. “I was hugged by my father and mother, although Dad was a bit too tall and broader from how I remember him.”

The two other shared looks, but smiled warmly nonetheless. “That probably was very nice. I’m happy for you.”

Dean nodded, still slightly distant. “Yeah, and there was also this guy who looked really like me, but he was taller and older. I guess he was an uncle I never knew about or something like that.”

“What about me and Castiel?” Sam asked curiously.

“That’s the thing, I don’t think so…” Dean mused, then frowned. “Why would I dream of my uncle that I never knew about but not you two?”

The duo shrugged, not having an answer to that and fell silent.

“What did we decide to do today?” Dean ripped the silence, eager to do something.

“Well… let me see,” Castiel took out the paper. “Well, we decided to do your pick. We’ll go to the park and have a picnic there. I started working on some snacks, but you could help if you want to.”

Dean nodded. “Sam, what are you planning to do in the meanwhile?” He turned to his brother, who was sheepishly rubbing his nape.

“Well… I haven’t really been working on my assignments, so I plan on finishing them today.”

Dean looked at his brother in disbelief. “You haven’t finished your homework yet?! What the hell have you been doing all this time?” He bristled.

Sam pouted. “I didn’t have a lot of free time, jerk.”

Dean wasn’t convinced. “I’ve already finished mine, bitch, so you have no reason not to.”

“That’s why I plan to do them right now.” Sam scoffed, his gaze darkening. “I don’t have a lot to begin with.”

Dean shook his head and waved him off. Sam stuck out his tongue and sprinted up to his room. Dean sighed and turned toward Castiel, “Sorry about the little bitch, I never thought that he won’t do his homework. What has the world come to?”

Castiel chuckled and smiled fondly at the teen. “You worry too much about your brother, Dean.”

“No, I don’t!” Dean exclaimed slightly too defensively.

“Dean…” Castiel warned him.

The younger teen sighed again. “It’s just… never mind…”

Castiel took Dean’s hands in his and looked into his eyes with concerned blue eyes, “Dean, please don’t regress to the state you’ve been before meeting me. You can tell me anything, or express any feeling. It’s not a sin to worry over your brother, Dean, especially when you’re practically his father.”

Dean looked back with wide eyes, filled with emotions. “I…”

Castiel smiled and rubbed his thumb over his cheeks. “I love you, too, Dean.”

Dean’s eyes fell half-lidded and he smiled dazedly. “Thanks, Cas. I love you.”

“I’d do anything for you.” Castiel pecked him on the lips and released him. “I think I should return to my home for the meanwhile.”

“Why?”

Castiel gave him a pointed look. “Because, for starters, I slept in my clothes. And secondly, I don’t want to worry my father too much,” He smirked. “I will return very soon to head out to the park. I am, after all, looking forward to this.”

Dean grinned and swept him into a long chaste kiss, hugging Castiel tightly. Castiel hummed and hugged him back, tilting his head a bit to get better angle of the lips, which made his friend chuckle.

They drew back and pressed their foreheads together. Dean smiled warmly. “Be careful, trench coat.”

“If you want, I can bring a trench coat to the park and cosplay as Castiel the angel.” Castiel winked and Dean laughed.

“That would be great.” He released him reluctantly. “But really, be careful.”

The older teen’s eyes softened and he brushed Dean’s hair away from his face. “Don’t worry, Dean, I’ll be.”

“Good. Now hop on, your father is waiting,” Dean teased and Castiel laughed before pecking him on the lips once more and rushing out of the door. Dean looked after him disappearing by the corner and returned to the kitchen, humming as he added his own food to the big picnic box.

* * *

Two hours later, Dean was getting a bit anxious that Castiel hadn’t returned from his house. So while Jess and Sam sat on the couch and talked, he went to the kitchen and dialed Castiel’s house phone.

“ _Shurley speaking!_ ” Chuck’s happy voice echoed through the phone.

“Hello, Mr. Shurley, I was wondering if I could talk to Cas, he hasn’t come back yet from changing his clothes.”

“ _But Castiel hasn’t returned home at all._ ” Chuck sounded worried. “ _Are you sure?_ ”

Dean clutched his phone tighter. “What do you mean ‘hasn’t returned home’?!” He almost yelled.

“ _I thought he was going to hang out with you two until dinner today, seeing he hasn’t returned home yet. Was I wrong?_ ”

“ **Very wrong!!!** ” This time Dean _did_ shout and the two pre-teens ran to him with worried faces. “Just because you know his habits does **not** mean you do not check! He went out **_two_** hours ago and I haven’t heard from him since. Please tell me you know where he is…” He choked, panic settling in.

“Dean? Is something wrong?” Sam asked him, but backed away when Dean sent him a death glare.

“ _I’m sorry, I’m going to look for him right now!_ ” Chuck sounded as panicked as he was and then he heard a crush.

“Are you okay there, sir?” He couldn’t help but worry.

“ _Shh… I think there’s someone in the house._ ” Chuck’s slightly frightened voice whispered to the phone. “ _I’m going to check that-_ ” He didn’t finish that sentence before another crush was heard and Dean hung to the phone like a lifeline.

“Sir? Chuck! Do you hear me?!” He shouted.

“What’s going on, Dean?” The other duo asked in fear.

“I don’t know…” Dean said, about to lose his head. “I think it started…”

“What started? Do you know something about it?” His brother asked cautiously.

“I feared s-” “ _Hello?_ ”

Dean heart dropped when a different voice was heard through the receiver. “Who are you?” He growled.

“ _Why, isn’t that Dean Winchester, just the person I wanted to speak to!_ ” The voice spoke coldly, dripping sarcasm.

“Who are you and what did you do with Chuck and Castiel?!” He demanded.

“ _Well, well, well, seems like Uriel was right, you do sound like him._ ” The man ignored his question and Dean felt rage bubble in him and he spoke darkly, “ ** _Who are you?_** ”

“ _The name is Zachariah. And to answer your question, I did nothing. The prophet is unconscious and in his bed and your little angel is well… is with me…_ ” The man chuckled.

“ **Release him, you son of a bitch!** ” Dean shouted, ignoring the nicknames. “ **If you did anything-** ”

“ _Oh, relax, pretty boy. I won’t do anything if you’ll come to me._ ” The man’s smirk was evident in his voice. “ _Come out alone and I’ll release him._ ”

Dean froze. They want him. And they used Cas to get to him. His clenched his fists. “Fine. But if I find out that you did anything to him, I’ll kill you!”

“ _Whatever. See you, Daniel._ ” The man hung up before Dean could say ‘the name’s Dean!’

“Dean!” He turned to his brother and his girlfriend, who were sporting similar looks of dread and fear. “What is going on? What happened to Cas and Mr. Shurley? Where are you going to? Are they okay? What did the ma-?” Dean covered Sam’s mouth and crouched before them, pulling them into a tight hug,

“No matter what happens, do. **not**. come out. of the house. Is it clear?” Dean said with his best John-tone, leaving no choice for them but to nod. “Good, now I’m going to get Cas and as soon as he’s home, protect him, okay? I’m relying on you both.”

“Okay.”

Dean nodded and rushed out of the house, his heart beating rapidly in fear of what they had done to Castiel.

He stopped by the car and looked around him, but no sign for Castiel or his kidnapper. He got frustrated and shouted, “I’m here, you dickhead. Come here and bring Cas back to me!”

He heard foot-steps behind him and he turned, just in time for something big to slam into him.

He felt tremendous pain explode in his body and everything went dark.


	10. Daniel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a lot of violence in this chapter today.  
> please don't kill me...  
> at least the plot is kicking in, no? *sweatdrop*

Castiel opened his heavy eyes slowly. His head was throbbing and jolts of pain sparked across it. He grimaced and his eyes slowly focused on his surrounding.  
It seems that he is in a dungeon-like room. He took a deep breath and moved his arms only to find them confined and stretched up. He looked up to see his hands cuffed above his head and immediately looked down in alarm, but was relieved to see that he was clothed, although they were wrinkled and slightly moldy.

What in the world happened? He couldn't remember anything since from the moment he stepped out of Dean's house.  _Oh Lord, Dean's probably worried sick over me. I just hope I'll be able to escape from here. But why would they want to kidnap me? I'm not rich or anything… I think…_

A rustle of feathers made him look up and see a middle aged man with a balding gray hair. He wore black suit and he looked at him with a dark smirk that promised him pain.

But the thing made him choke on a scream was what he held in his arms.

 _Dean!_  The younger teen was limp in the man's arms, his forehead adorning a fresh bruise. The black haired teen glowered at the man, but the man ignored him and set Dean on a cross-like table and fastened shackles on his limbs when he had finally found his voice.

"What are you planning to do with us?" Castiel's voice quivered with anger and slight fear.

The man looked at him like he just noticed him. His crooked smirk widened. "Well, well, well, I see that the little angel is awake. You sure took your time."

"What do you want from us?" The teen snapped at the bald man.

"With you – we'll see, maybe I'll keep you as a pet. With the brat – Alistair will have to decide, after I'll have my way with him."

Castiel's eyes grew wide in fear, that man is still alive?! "B-but he is dead!"

The man looked at him with bored eyes. "Demons don't die, simply change bodies."

Castiel gulped and started struggling in his confines, this man was nuts. He has to get Dean away from here as fast as he can. "Don't touch him, you psycho!"

The man's expression turned annoyed and he crouched before him and yanked some of his hair up, forcing him to yelp in pain and look up into cold pale eyes. "Well, too bad, little angel."

Castiel felt like puking. "Please! I'll do anything, just don't hurt him," He pleaded with the man.

"Shut up, you annoying pest!" The man slapped him hard and Castiel felt as if he was just hit by a track. He cried out and took a shuddering breath as the pain faded a bit. "W-what are you? No one can harm people like that with a simple hit."

The man smirk returned ten-fold. Castiel really started hating this man. "Well, I guess it's time to tell you."

He mockingly bowed his head. "I'm Zachariah, a Seraph."

"A-an angel?!" Castiel said in disbelief, this man seriously needs to get admitted. "But angels are not-"

"What? Not forming an alliance with demons?"

"Not dickheads," Castiel growled. "There's no such a thing as angels or demons."

A flash of light, and Zachariah was holding a small flame, his smirk dangerously dark. "Really? Let's see if we can make you change your mind." He pushed the flame into Dean's body and the teen's body started to spasm and convulse.

"Dean!" Castiel shouted. "Stop that! Please!"

Zachariah didn't budge, one eyebrow rising in amusement.

"Okay, okay! I believe you! Please stop that!" Tears fell from the teen's eyes as he cried for him to stop hurting his friend.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the man retracted his hand and Dean's body fell slack, deathly still.

Castiel choked on his tears. "Please let us go, Zachariah! We didn't do anything to you."

Zachariah rolled his eyes. "It's not about of doing, it's about  _existing_ , you abominations."

"Abominations? Since when humans are 'abominations'?" Castiel couldn't believe his ears, they were kidnapped for  _living_? Do they want to kill them for being  _born_?!

The man took out a long silver blade and traced it lovingly. Castiel remembered what Sam told them of a man holding a silver blade all those months ago, could he had been an angel as well?

His world was turning upside down in mere minutes. If that was a nightmare, Castiel desperately wanted to wake up  _right **now**_.

"I think that instead of telling you, I'll show you, no?" The man pondered and Castiel felt dread wash him over. Then another man's voice interrupted them and the duo looked up to see a bony man enter the room and Castiel could feel  _darkness_  surround him, pulsing around him as if it was a heartbeat.

"Alistair, perfect timing," Zachariah nodded to the man, stopping Castiel's heart with the familiar name. "I was about to call Daniel forth."

"Good." Alistair licked his lips and looked over to Dean with such lust in his eyes that Castiel wanted to bend over and vomit. Instead he gritted his teeth and glared at the man. "You'll not touch him, you filthy perverted psycho!"

Alistair looked at him for the first time and a dark frown spread over his lips, chilling the teen to the bone. "Well if it isn't that dreadful fake lover. I've waited to meet you for a long time now - ever since you managed to get Daniel to hate me. I always wondered," He stepped closer to the teen, and Castiel tried to scoot back, but was trapped by the wall. The lanky man cupped his chin and forced him to look up to him and snarled at the teen. "What made  _you_  so special?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but attacking people and almost  _raping_  them does  **not**  make people like you, assbutt."

"Smartass much." Alistair huffed, crushing his head to the wall and opened a gash, making the teen scream out in pain. "Be glad that you're Zachariah's pet, or I would have killed you on sight."

"Oh, I am  _so_  glad," Castiel spat out some blood, feeling the warm blood trickle down his scalp, the pain pulsing harder in his head.

Alistair turned to Zachariah, ignoring the sarcasm. "Well, what are you waiting for? I want to have my angel by the end of the day!"

The fat man snarled at him. "Remember, who can smite who? I'll do it my pace. Don't worry, you'll have your little bitch at the end of the day."

"What are you planning to do?" Castiel bit his lip, shifting his knuckles to be able to dislocate his fingers so he would be able to escape his handcuffs. He read too many books that used this technique for it to be useless.

The two men ignored him and circled Dean like two predators closing on the prey. Castiel felt panic set in his bones and worked faster to release himself.

"Wait… I need to know the first key," Zachariah pushed the demon aside. "Ah, here it is," He snapped his fingers and Dean's shirt was gone before he pressed the blade to the unblemished skin and slowly dragged it down, drawing blood.

Alistair snorted and looked back at the struggling teen only to see him charge at him and punch him in the face. He staggered a few steps back, but quickly swiped his hand, making Castiel fly to the wall and crush into it. Castiel gasped in pain, his hands throbbing and bleeding, pinned to the wall as the lanky man stepped toward him.

"Well, well, well, it seems our little angel knows a few tricks."

In the meanwhile, Zachariah drew another line at Dean's chest, noting the teen's body faint glow. His smirk grew in victory and he pressed a little harder, which made the younger teen open his eyes and yelp.

"Dean!" Castiel called from his place, but was shut up by the demon's hand covering his mouth. Alistair place a finger to his pale thin lips. "Shh… I don't want you to ruin my reunion with Daniel." He snapped his fingers and Castiel writhed in pain in his place as his insides felt as if they were torn apart, his eyes wide with pain and his screams muffled by the demon's hand.

"Hello, Dean," Zachariah muttered and pressed a finger in the slash, and Dean groaned in pain, his glow fading.

"What… who… are you?" Dean tried to say, but the man chose this moment to slash his collarbone and he cried out. The angel started picking up pace and slashed place after place, making Dean twitch and struggle in his shackles and groan or cry in pain, his body glowing brighter with each slash.

Castiel watched the scene unfold in front of him with wide eyes, immobilize under Alistair's hands and unable to think coherently with the pain he was inflicted upon.

After a long time, which seemed to be eons, Zachariah stopped the slashing, the bloodied blade hanging by his side, and Alistair dropped half-conscious Castiel carelessly to the floor.

"I almost finished," The angel noted. "The only thing we need is the final touch and the final lock will break."

The demon's eyes lit up with pleasure and lust. "Let me do that, Zach!"

Zachariah eyed him and handed him the blade and stepped back, toward Castiel. He yanked his hair up and looked into his glaring eyes. "Still has some spank in you? I like you, kid. Now look how we finally get that traitor to show his face."

Alistair brushed Dean's face lovingly and smirked, whispering to his ear. "Soon, angel, soon we'll be together."

Dean's eyes grew wide with recognition and fear. "Le'mme go!" He slurred in pain.

"No, darling, not that we're finally together." The demon raised the blade above Dean's heart. Castiel realized what he was going to do and screamed 'NO!' the minute he brought down the blade, into Dean's chest, piercing through his heart.

The scream that echoed through the room wasn't human and Castiel fell to the ground, still held by the angel and choking on his tears as Dean's back arched up and his eyes grew wide, the screams rippling from his mouth as the light started glowing brighter and soon enveloped Dean's in a light armor.

"What's going on?!" Castiel sobbed, struggling in Zachariah's grip. "Let me go! DEAN!"

"Be silent!" Zachariah slapped him, making him fall to the floor and cough blood.

Alistair was ecstatic. "We finally meet again, Daniel!" He seemed to not care of the blood trailing down his eyes or his body quivering under the light.

Slowly the light faded and Dean's body fell slack on the table, his head rolling to the side, blood ruining his young face.

Everything was quiet for a moment, and the demon felt his world crash and he turned to glare at the angel when Dean's body jerked up, and light covered his body faintly as half-lidded glowing green eyes looked over the trio.

Castiel whimpered when he saw the blank gaze his friend had and feared that he had lost his friend forever. Then he looked to his abdomen and bit his lip from crying; his chest was slashed in a set of triangles, surrounding a drawing of a big 'כ' over a narrow 'c', and the blade was still sticking out from his chest. Was he dead? How could he move then? What is going on? He wants to wake up already. Someone,  _help!_

"Dean," He whispered and the teen's eyes locked on his, dead green eyes on wet blue eyes.

"Castiel," Dean mumbled, his voice much more deep and older, brimming with knowledge and power.

"Daniel," Alistair growled, cupping the teen's face and bringing it up to him. "Don't look at that slut, look at me."

"Alistair... I thought you had died that day," Dean sounded old and tired, "What do you want?"

"Don't be such a party-pooper, dear," The demon almost purred and Castiel felt fury bubble in him and struggled once anew, earning another ear-splitting slap. This had caught Dean's attention and made his dead look turned predatory and the shackles fell to his feet as he stood up and grabbed Alistair's face.

The demon's face fell down, but he tsk'ed. "Nu-uh, you're not going to kill me that easily, angel." He snapped his fingers and a big symbol glowed from the ceiling and all of them looked up. Dean growled and his eyes took a look of a caged bird. "Let me go, you filthy psychopath."

The demon shook his head and pressed closer to the teen, which to it Dean took a step back, but seemed to be stopped by some invisible wall.

"You can't run away from me anymore, Daniel, that blade is restricting you and the angel trap is absorbing your grace," Alistair traced the teen's face gingerly, but the teen swatted it away with disgust in his gaze. Alistair didn't seem to waver from it and grabbed the teen's hands, pinning them above his head to the invisible wall. Dean started to struggle, but the demon shifted so one hand held Dean's wrists and the other one buried the blade deeper to his chest, making the teen groan in pain.

"You're mine, angel," The demon murmured against his lips and kissed him harshly. Dean clenched his eyes shut and tried to pry away from the demon's lips and Castiel shouted out "Leave him alone!"

This seemed to annoy the demon, as he drew back, and then Dean spit in his face. "Don't touch me, Alistair. I told you many times, I belong to Castiel, and Castiel only."

Alistair growled. "Yeah… Castiel, the little angel bitch."

"Don't talk about him like that!" Dean snarled at him, hushed by Alistair's thumb stroking his lips.

"Shh…" Alistair smirked. "You're mine now, so no talking about that angel ever again."

"Dean!" Castiel really didn't know what was going on in front of him and was terrified from what took over Dean's body and from Alistair being close to his friend.

"Castiel…" Dean looked at him with longing eyes, then took over his bloodied face and heaving chest and his gaze turned predatory again. He looked at the demon and growled, "Let him go!"

"Why?" The demon asked innocently.

The gaze turned dark and Dean raised his hand and the ceiling blew up above him, leaving him surrounded by rubbles but unscathed.

"I said to let him go, Alistair." Dean grabbed the demon's forehead. Alistair glowed and blew up in his place. He turned to Zachariah, who still held Castiel and plucked the blade out from his chest and held it to his side, blood dripping from it and the metal glowing from underneath the blood.

Zachariah took a step back, releasing the older teen, and held up his hands in surrender. "It's okay, no one needs to kill anyone. I only wanted to smite you myself, traitor." He took out another blade. But before he even moved, Dean stood before him, his blade deep in the angel's throat. Zachariah glowed and Castiel had to shut his eyes as the man blew up as well, disappearing completely.

Castiel yelped and scooted as quickly as he could with his battered body to the farthest corner in the room, eyes filled with fear as he took in the scene before him; Dean with dead eyes and a gaping hole that was slowly closing and a blade in his hands that was still  _friggin' dripping blood_. He can't handle this anymore!

Dean seemed hurt by his fear and threw the blade away, crouching before Castiel and cupping his face. Castiel flinched and closed his eyes waiting for his doom, but when he only felt warmth wash him, he looked up and saw Dean smiling at him warmly, his eyes full of love and care.

"Castiel… I finally see you again," Dean mumbled and kissed him long and chastely, making him slightly melt, but something made him pause.

It didn't feel like Dean at all, it didn't even feel… human, he pushed the teen away and glared at him. "Who are you?"

Dean looked hurt, but then he sighed and sat crossed-legged on the floor in front of Castiel and took his hands in his, fiddling with them. "I forget… he's still locked inside of you…"

"Who?"

"Castiel."

"But I  _am_ Castiel," Castiel was confused.

"I meant Castiel,  _my_  angel," Dean looked amusingly but also sadly at him.

"I have an angel locked in me?!" The teen felt his world crashing around him; first kidnapped, then finding out about demons and angels, Dean is actually an angel, and now he is an angel  _as well?!_ And why doesn't he feel pain anymore? He was too shaken to react to the new information.

"Yeah, several blood-lines have angels in their bodies," Dean explained patiently. "Dean is from the Campbell line – Daniel line, my line."

"Campbell line?" Castiel echoed after him.

Daniel nodded. "And you're from the Novak line – Castiel line."

"I think you got that confused," Castiel sighed in relief. Dean made a mistake. "I'm not a Novak, I'm Shurley."

"No, you're not. You're adopted, Castiel."

" **What?!** "

"You're adopted," Daniel looked slightly exasperated. "You didn't hear me the first time?"

"No, I heard you," Castiel felt dizzy and grasped Daniel for support, something the angel seemed eager to give him. "But why my father has never told me?"

"Well… he's the prophet, so he probably was told not to. He had to hide you so we could reunite without the other angels noticing."

"The prophet?" Castiel inquired, "And why do you mean by reunite? Are you two like…?"

"Lovers?" Daniel blushed and sheepishly rubbed his nape. "Well… you could say that."

"Is that a bad thing?" His eyebrow quirked up at the shameful gaze he got from the angel.

Daniel sighed. "You could say… we angels… are not allowed to fall in love with each other. Actually, we're not supposed to even feel feelings like falling in love, we only supposed to love humanity unconditionally."

Castiel felt empathy to the angel. He and Dean weren't accepted in many places as well because they were two males. "That's horrible! And because you two fell in love you…"

"Were declared traitors, yes. But before they could have cast us out, Father took us and placed us on the first humans of the Campbell and the Novak lines."

Father as in 'God'? Castiel felt a bit light-headed. "Then that means that you're allowed to love, no?"

The angel shook his head. "It wasn't to save us, but to punish. But also to ready us to the war."

"War?"

"Lucifer. They want to free my brother from the cage, so Michael, Castiel and I are supposed to stop him and because of that, we need to be hidden until we're called forth."

Oh, no… "So that means that the time has come?" Castiel prayed hard that it'd not be the case.  _Please not let us suffer anymore, haven't we suffered enough?_

"No, not yet." Castiel sighed in relief. "The demon and that fallen released me too early, a few years actually. I was supposed to awaken in ten years."

 _Well, shit_ ,  _that's actually making me feel worse,_  Castiel thought miserably. "So that means that Dean and I are part of this war?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"To free the Satan?"

The angel chuckled softly. "Lucifer is not the Satan, it's just a misunderstanding. He's a fallen angel who disobeyed our father and rebelled against him. He was cast down to hell and was locked in the cage." Daniel seemed sad and regretful when he said that.

"How would they be able to release him then?"

"I fear that they already had, I can feel him close by," Daniel looked tired, and Castiel suddenly saw how old he really was.

Then the angel abruptly stood and started to glow and Castiel narrowed his eyes at the light, alarmed. "What are you doing?"

"I…" The angel sounded baffled and suddenly he swayed and collapsed to the ground, only Castiel being before him saved him from face-kissing the hard floor.

"Dean? Dean!" Castiel shook the teen. When faced with silence, he laid him on the floor, taking his blood smeared face and mutilated upper body, thankfully, the gaping hole in the chest closed. He choked on his sobs and brushed the teen's sticky hair away from his face. He scanned the room for anything to contact the outside, his insides suddenly burning anew and his head and thumbs sending spikes of pain through his hands. He couldn't find anything and gathered the unconscious teen in his arms, reminded of that day several days ago,  _was it only less than a week ago?_ , when Dean had the nightmare and hid at school, and he half-carried half-dragged him to the door.

He panted when he struggled to open the door and had to put Dean down to open it. He almost fell backwards when the door yanked open, but steadied himself quickly and re-collected Dean, stumping up the staircase.

When they had finally reached the top of the stairs, he collapsed by the gate and held Dean close to him, afraid of letting him go. He panted and heaved as his chest felt as if fire was eating it alive and black spots danced in his sight range.

 _Oh no… I need to get back home, Dean is injured… I have to… get up…_  he closed his eyes and his head rolled to the side, Dean in his arms, staining his clothes with blood.


	11. Hospital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i want to say something very important.  
> i started a month ago an engineering course studying in the army so i'm not home most of the time so i'll have problems posting so i'm sorry in advance.

When Castiel opened his eyes, he had to squint his eyes against the light. He blinked and took the white-colored walls and the white sheets bed he was currently lying on.

His head felt like goo and he couldn’t remember what happened to him. He strained to remember what was the last thing he remembered and he realized that it was when he had said goodbye to Dean. But then… nothing came to mind.

His head started pounding in pain and his chest felt sore and he got the faint feeling that it wasn’t a sickness. He sat up and spotted another bed and almost fell to the floor by tripping on the IV stand.

Dean was lying on the bed besides him, hooked to several machines and an oxygen mask covered his mouth. Choking on sobs, Castiel limped to his bed, not noticing the plugs plucking off from his chest and the machine starting to go crazy. He kneeled by the bed and held his friend’s face with his hands and suddenly everything came back to him; the kidnapping, Zachariah and Alistair, the ritual, Daniel, Castiel and trying to get away. He started crying and hugged his dear, dear friend tightly, not wanting to lose him ever again.

Nurses and a doctor rushed to the room alarmed, but seemed to relax seeing that no one was dying. “Sweetie,” The oldest nurse patted Castiel’s hair, bringing his attention to her. She smiled a kind smile to him. “Don’t worry about your friend, he’ll be just fine.”

The teen nodded, but still clutched Dean’s hands tight, not moving from his spot. The other nurse shut down the machine and went out, leaving the old nurse and the doctor with the two teens.

“Dear, we need to check up on you, now that you’ve woken up, to see if you’re well enough to check out.”

Castiel shook his head mutely, still clutching Dean’s hands. The nurse sighed. “You can still hold him while we check you, okay?”

The teen considered that and nodded, letting himself get up and sit on the chair that the kind nurse had placed down for him, still holding his friend’s hand. The nurse smiled and motioned for the doctor to take her place and went out to call the teen’s family.

The doctor checked his pulse, his temperature, his sight, his hearing and tried to ask him about what happened, but Castiel stayed silent.

“Come on, at least say something,” The doctor tried to nudge him a bit, but Castiel shook his head furiously and sat on the bed, hovering over Dean protectively. The doctor sighed and gave up, standing up. He told the teen to call if anything happens and walked outside.

Castiel paid him no heed, only focused on Dean. His hand traced the still young face, poking at the slight round cheek and he kissed his face rapidly, trying to commit his face to his memory, afraid that he’ll be taken from him again. He closed his eyes and prayed hard that this was it, that the battle Daniel talked about would happen years from now, when they would be ready and strong enough to take it. They were only kids, and that day's events were affecting him (and probably would affect Dean as well). He was very tired. He just wanted to return to the months before the spring break, where they were still innocent and away from anything ominous. He placed his hand over Dean’s handprint and realized now what had happened that day when they had… done that, he blushed thinking of that night. The angels probably came across them and marked each other as mates. He smiled and rested his head on his friend’s chest, hearing the steady heartbeat and feeling the poking of the plugs scattered around underneath his face. He felt his eyes grow heavy and he happily let himself drowse off.

* * *

He still felt Dean’s fingers curled around his when he came to again and his head was still on his chest, but small buzzing was added to the silence and he looked up annoyingly to spot the source. His father and Sam were talking to each other amiably. He sat up and felt a blanket slide off his shoulders and falling to the ground, drawing the other two’s attention to him. His father’s eyes lit up and he almost tackled him to the ground with a hug, which Sam happily joined to. Castiel felt his eyes tear up and he silently sobbed into his father’s shirt, letting the load on his heart soak out and evaporate.

“Shh… it’s alright, son, we’ve got you. Sammy was able to use the GPS on your phone to track you down. I’m so glad that we had found you before the kidnappers had returned. You gave me a heart attack, idiot.”

Castiel just nodded and buried his face deeper into the comforting warmth.

‘ _You’re adopted. From the Novak line._ ’

Castiel looked up and motioned his father to give him something to write on. Chuck looked worried. “The doctor did say you weren’t talking, but why can’t you just say what you want?”

Castiel shook his head and motioned for pen and paper more forcibly and Sam took out from his pocket his notepad and a pen and lent it to him. Castiel smiled at him and scribbled in the notepad and showed it to his father, whose face blanched completely.

_‘How long was I out?’_

“Only half a day,” Chuck smiled. “They say that Dean should be awake soon as well.”

Castiel nodded.  _‘Where’s Jess?’_

“At home, her parents got scared of what happened and wanted her in their sight,” Sam scowled. “Uncle Bobby and Aunt Karen came just an hour ago. Aunt Karen wanted to bring a pie, but the doctors didn’t let her.”

The teen chuckled, imagining the scene. But then he sobered and wrote the question he wanted to ask from the start.  _‘Father, someone told I’m from the Novak line. Does that mean I am adopted?’_

“Wh-who told you?” Chuck stammered, but Castiel only gave him a pointed look and he sighed, “Y-yes, you’re.”

_‘Why didn’t you tell me?’_

“Your mother and I had found you after a house burned down. You were only a baby, and your mother was barely alive when we stumbled her way.” Castiel saw him take out a picture and hand it to him. “She was frantic and told us to take you and run away, that the ‘demons’ were coming and that we have to hide you. I still don’t understand what she meant, but when we took you home, Becky wanted to tell someone about what happened, but I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be wise and that we have to keep your family identity a secret, so we decided to make you our baby.”

Castiel looked at the picture. A couple was holding a baby that had a mop of dark hair and big wide blue eyes. The woman had long brown hair and kind dark eyes, wearing a white button-up shirt. The man was taller, and the splitting image of him, only older with a trench coat covering a suit, laugh wrinkles crowning his eyes. He looked up in question to his father. Chuck nodded. “They are your real parents.”

Sam piped nervously, “Cas, I don’t want to ruin that moment, but what happened? Who took you and Dean?” He choked. “Who hurt you?” Castiel sighed and hugged the child, wishing he could tell them, but also knew that they would be put in danger if they knew.

 _-He’s the prophet-_ , is that how he knew not to tell about his family? How he stumbled by their house that night?

_‘How old was I?’_

“Six months old.”

“Like me,” Sam paled. “Our house burned down when I was six months old exactly.”

“Sam, it’s probably a coincidence,” Chuck tried to calm him down.

“No, it wasn’t,” The trio turned to the bed, startled. Dean was sitting up, the mask gone and his eyes tired.

“Dean?” Sam asked hesitantly, but Castiel immediately knew that it wasn’t Dean.

“ _Daniel_ ,” He whispered and the other two looked at him in confusion.

“Hey, Castiel,” Daniel’s voice was deep as before, but his eyes grew warm and he kissed his fingers affectionately.

“Daniel, I’m still Cas,” Castiel grumbled. “Can you please stop doing that? You’re freaking Sammy and my father out.”

“But Castiel~!” The angel whined, but the teen was having none of that and swatted his hand away. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you returned dormant again.”

Daniel sighed, “I collapsed because I had used too much of my grace under the unfortunate circumstances. I had been also a bit too hard on Dean’s body, and I was too weak to heal anything except for the heart puncture. If I hadn’t done that, Dean would’ve died for sure, but that took a lot from me.”

“I’m sorry,” Castiel bit his lip. “If only I wasn’t stupid to head out alone-”

Daniel covered his mouth with his hand, “Don’t. Even if you didn’t, they would have caught me some way or another and I probably would have had Alistair having his way with me if you hadn’t been there. I was afraid that day would have come,” He muttered, once again sounding old and tired.

“Okay, can someone tell us what’s going on here?!” Sam snapped. “Why is my brother acting as if he’s someone else? And why are  _you_  acting like he’s someone else, Cas?!” He pointed at Castiel accusingly.

The duo looked at each other and sighed. Daniel reached his hand out and cupped Sam’s face, a small smile dancing on his lips, “Samuel, I guess that since your parents are not here to tell you, you never knew about your legacy, or at least Dean’s.”

“What do you mean?” Sam narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him.

The angel sighed, retracting his hand, “Millenniums ago, they were three humans; Leila Novak, Avrael Campbell and Noah Winchester-”

Chuck and Sam looked at each other, wondering what he is trying to get to.

“-At the same time, they were three angels; the seraph Castiel, the archangel Daniel and the fledging archangel Michael. Those angels were best friends and did almost every order and mission together. Castiel and Daniel were especially close, seeing they were created almost at the same time.

But there were some who disapproved of that, like a demon, Alistair, who once had met with Daniel and developed a sick obsession with the archangel…”

* * *

_Flashback:_

“Daniel!” The archangel turned to his friend and smiled broadly at him, his grace pulsing slightly. Castiel stood by him and wrapped his vessel’s arms around him, breathing the smell of light and grace.

“What are you doing here, silly?” Daniel teased his friend and flicked his nose. Castiel pouted and held his nose protectively. The archangel laughed. “You’re so adorable.”

Castiel blushed, but then his eyes narrowed dangerously. “Daniel…”

Daniel caught the slight fear in his tone and he bit his lip, “I’m sorry, I-I forget.” He cast his head low, tears threatening to fall. This wasn’t fair, he thought, he just wanted to be able to show what he feels for his little sweet seraph. Castiel’s eyes softened, knowing what he was thinking of and cupped his face, “It’s okay, Daniel, we’ll figure that out. One day, we’ll be able to express our feeling without fearing of capture.”

“It’s just… it’s just not fair. You and I… and Michael, we all act like humans. We have feelings – we doubt, we befriend, we love, we  _care_. I want the other angels to understand how wonderful this is, and that way we can also love the humans more than indifferently love them. It’s not love, what the others have, it’s duty.”

“I know,” Castiel sighed, resting his forehead on his chest. "I know."

“Guys!” They looked over to see young Michael running toward them, his young vessel flushing and brimming with happiness.

Michael was like their little son, the one who was with them when they had started to interact with humans. They lived for decades together as humans and helped anyone they could find in the wild nature.

“What is it? You sound happy,” Castiel asked amusingly.

Michael stopped before them and swept them unto a big hug with his wings, “I just saw Miller again!”

“Your human friend?” They looked at each other with concern. “Michael, you know it’s not safe to-”

Michael huffed. “I know that! But I can use the excuse that her parents left her alone and that I only guard her,” He pouted and the two older angels sighed.

“Fine, but you  _have_  to be careful, alright?” Castiel pushed.

“Fine,  _Mother_ , I’ll be careful. Father, you sound like one of the mothers!” He snapped in annoyance. “And Daniel is like one of the fathers, I’m telling you, you should be married!”

“Michael!” They both blushed, not able to look at each other.

The young archangel laughed and pulled them toward the small village. “Come on, we should return before anyone would get suspicious.”

“ _Not so fast_ ,” A dark voice interrupted them and they turned to see a stark white man with pale light blue eyes and dark hair wearing one of the fur clothes of one of the tribes in the area. The man inched closer to them, eyes growing dark with lust as he eyed Daniel. Castiel and Michael stepped before the older archangel and growled at the man.

“Alistair,” Daniel gently pushed them away and taking out his angel blade in warning. “What do you want now?”

The demon smirked and at the next second was by the angel, his arms around the taller man, his lips kissing his neck.

Daniel looked horrified and he threw the demon to the nearest tree, impaling him on the branch, and rubbing his neck with disgust. “What in the Lord’s name were you thinking to yourself?! You disgusting filth.”

The younger angels growled and Castiel held Daniel’s arm protectively. They knew that the demon was stronger and they were still comparably younger and weaker than the much older demon, who had some of Lucifer grace in him. But they didn’t care. If he was touching Daniel again, they’ll kill him.

Alistair brushed himself and walked forward, the branch slipping out with a ‘pop’ and evaporating into dust. He smirked and licked his bloodied hand. “You’re so delicious, Daniel.”

Daniel shuddered in disgust. “I don’t want to get near you, so leave or I’ll smite you.” Alistair shook his head. “Living with the humans made you so weak, Daniel, I’m quite disappointed. So young and yet so corrupted.” He turned to Castiel and glared at him. “It’s all your fault, slut.”

Daniel stood before his friend. “He has nothing to do with whatever you want, now leave!”

“Oh, yes, he has everything to do with you. Taking you away from me, my angel,” Alistair growled and the next moment sent Castiel flying away from Daniel.

“Castiel!” Daniel reached out for him, but was stopped by something and looked down to see himself stuck in an angel trap. “Crap! Michael, get away!” He cried out to the hot-headed archangel, who was standing before him, trying to erase the bloodied circle, then charging at the demon and was shoved away next to Castiel. Alistair purred as he stepped into the circle and cupped the terrified archangel’s face, “You look so beautiful, angel.”

Daniel’s eyes shone with his grace, but then Alistair waved his hand and another seal glowed and Daniel fell to his knees, coughing blood. His grace was being torn away from him.

“DANIEL!” Castiel called and used his grace to crack the circle down to the core of the earth, knowing that it would pass the deepest place the demon carved the seals. Daniel felt his grace return to him and charged the demon with the blade.

Alistair sighed and jumped away from him every time he transported next to him, slashing the air. “I guess that I can’t have you this time,” he stopped and made Daniel stumble on his feet before planting a kiss on his lips and disappearing with light the minute Daniel stabbed him with the blade. Daniel wanted to vomit and cleaned his bloodied lips as Castiel and Michael rushed to him and helped him sit down, “Are you okay?”

“Been better… argh, that filth, how dare he?” He used his grace to clean them completely, wishing to wipe any sign of the demon from him. Castiel placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry I’m still weak.”

“Castiel, you’re still a half-fledgling like me, and Michael is just a century old. Alistair was one of Lucifer’s generals during the rebellion.”

“I know, i know, but still… are you sure you’re okay?” Castiel asked in concern and Daniel smirked.

“Well, my lips are still sore, can you kiss it better?” He batted his eyelashes innocently. Castiel blushed and sighed, but complied and kissed him deeply. Daniel hummed happily and hugged him, not wanting to ever part from his mate. Michael was doing vomiting noises next to them, “Ew… kissing… there are children here you know?”

He was ignored by the happy couple and sighed as he plopped by them and looked at the clearing around them. “What do you think Alistair wanted with you?” He pondered vocally and the couple froze. “I… I don’t know…” Daniel admitted. “I mean, I’m an archangel, yes. But I’m not exceptionally strong or special.”

“Well, compared to Raphael when he was your age, you’re quite strong for your age,” Castiel smiled. Daniel smiled back, not reassured, “You’re stronger than me Castiel.”

Castiel huffed, “That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Are you really going to fight who’s stronger? Because I can tell you the answer on the spot,” Michael chimed. The couple raised a brow at him. “Really? Who?”

“Me!” The trio laughed.

“We seriously need to get back, though,” Castiel said solemnly, breaking the carefree mood, bringing them back to reality. The archangels nodded and they set back to return to their village.

* * *

“Daniel.” The archangel turned to see Uriel approach him and sighed, fixing his robes.

“Yes, what is it that you need, chuckles?”

“Do not be rude to your superiors,” Uriel coldly said.

“And they say you’re the funniest angel on the garrison,” He muttered to himself. “Yes?” He grumbled.

“I want to give you a piece of advice,” The archangel said. “Stop associating with the seraph and Michael.”

“What in Father’s name are you talking about?!” He bristled. “We’re comrades, we work together.”

“You’re becoming too human, and that’s forbidden, Daniel.”

“Well, screw that! Good day to you too, asshat,” He swiftly turned and walked with his head high away.

Uriel narrowed his eyes at him and turned to report to Raphael.

* * *

“What the hell is going on here?! You have no right to be here!” Castiel growled when two seraphs grabbed him and hauled him from his tent on earth.

“We were ordered to retrieve you, Sir Michael and Sir Daniel.”

“Why?”

“You’re to be judged for risking falling and for associating with demons.”

“What?! We didn’t associate with  _any_  demon!” Castiel couldn’t believe his ears and tried to struggle in the binds, but they were carved with Enochian spells, effectively chaining him down.

“What is going on here?” Daniel’s voice boomed in the room they were brought into. He stood tall and prideful. He looked at Castiel and his eyes misted over with love, pain and fear. Castiel returned the look with reassurance in his eyes. The seraph searched for Michael and had found him shaking in his place. Only a fledging and is already in front of the archangel court. Poor kid, he thought to himself.

Raphael ordered the place to be quiet and went straight to business, “We have gathered here to judge three angels who had strayed from the right road and are to be punished for it.”

Castiel paled, since when having feeling is a sin? Father never told them that they  _had_  to be emotionless dicks. He saw from the corner of his eye two archangels bring a large knife inscribed with Enochian letters and symbols and felt dread wash him – they were going to cut their wings off.

“First, Daniel the archangel. Bring him forth,” He waved off his hand and Daniel stepped forward, still tall with no sign left of fear in him, the rightful archangel.

“Here is what are been charged fort: First, you have been watching over humanity since you were born and under that excuse, corrupted Archangel Michael and Seraph Castiel. Secondly, you have forced your fellow angel to become your mate and develop feeling other than love for the humans and obedience for our father. Lastly, you’ve been accused of associating with demons. Your sentence is to be cast out of heaven and sent to hell for eternity. Do you have any last words?” Raphael said triumphantly.

Daniel raised his head high, distaste wrinkling his face. “Yes, I do, you dickhead.”

A gasp was heard across the room as the young archangel insulted the lead archangel. Daniel paid then no head, looking with hatred at Raphael. “You can do whatever you want with me, but as you said, Castiel and Michael were misled, so they won’t need to get punishment. You can lock them in heaven, but do not harm them, or I swear, I’ll use every method I have to hunt you down and smite you.”

Raphael smirked. “Well… I’ll consider that, seeing that it is truly not their fault.”

“NO, DANIEL!” Castiel cried. “You can’t take everything on you! Please!” He was joined by Michael. "You're not guilty of anything they had said, Daniel!"

Daniel smiled sadly at them. “Castiel, please take care of Michael, okay?” Castiel’s eyes grew wide but slowly nodded and Daniel smile grew sadder, his eyes wet. “Thank you, Castiel, I love you.”

“Let the punishment start.” Raphael motioned with his hand and Daniel was cuffed to the ground, his head bowed and his wings spread enormous and gold and tragically beautiful. Castiel and Michael choked on tears when the seraphs raised the big sword and brought it down onto the wings.

The screams shattered the whole place and suddenly gold and silver light was covering the vessel. Everyone looked worried, Raphael especially, something has gone wrong. Castiel tried to escape his cuffs to get to his beloved, but the seraphs held him and Michael, who was kicking and shouting at them to let him go. The light intensified and Daniel stood up, the cuffs falling to the ground and turning to dust. He looked up to Raphael, his bloodied wings still on his back, but his eyes growing green-white.

“ _Raphael! What have you done?!_ ” His voice wasn’t angelic anymore and everyone immediately recognized the voice.

“F-father,” the archangel fell to his knees. “W-what’s going on?”

“ _These three angels are the key for the victory against my fallen son. There is a reason every angel was created, and I’m very disappointed in you for choosing to let jealousy and pride fog your grace._ ”

“I’m so sorry, father. I’ll do anything for forgiveness,” The archangel was close to tears.

“ _I’m going to hide those angels inside three special humans who can take the full power of an archangel’s grace and separate them until the time is right._ ”

Castiel felt tears of happiness flow down his cheeks, “Thank you, father, thank you so much.”

Daniel looked at him, eyes hard. “ _That is not an award, my son. You’ll be separated for millenniums until you’ll be inside a vessel with a similar name to yours. But this is also protection from the demon Alistair, seeing he got an affixation on Daniel._ ”

Castiel nodded. “I’m so sorry, father.”

Daniel nodded and the light intensified again and when it had faded, the three angels were gone from the room.

* * *

Castiel held Daniel close, kissing him intently and crying. Daniel hugged him and when they drew away they held Michael close to them, trying to remember everything about the other before they separated.

“Please take care, Castiel, Michael,” Daniel said with tears in his eyes.

The other two nodded and hugged him tight before a force yanked them away from each other.

“MICHAEL! CASTIEL!” Daniel cried out but soon was trapped inside of Avrael Campbell, locked under spells and flesh.

* * *

_Return to the present:_

Castiel and Sam sat there with wide teary eyes as Daniel finished his story. Castiel embraced him tight as he clutched to his shirt.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” He said.

Sam agreed. “That’s just plain terrible, how could the angels do that to you?”

“We’re soldiers, not cupids,” Daniel tried to joke, but Sam punched him slightly on the shoulder and he quieted down. Castiel held his hand and looked hard into his green eyes. “Is there any way for me to release Castiel out?”

“You’re willing to let an angel control you?” Daniel looked at him with shock. Castiel grimaced. “Not control me. Just share, I guess… we both love you, I mean, you and Dean…” He trailed off, blushing and the angel chuckled. “Well, it’s not very hard, actually. I really don’t understand why Zachariah had to do it the hard way…”

“There was another way?!”

“Of course, just make Dean say ‘yes’ to me and I’ll be able to take control, or share,” He quickly added under Castiel’s glare.

“How did Zachariah unlock you?” Chuck’s voice startled them, they’d completely forgotten he was there. 

"Well… he carved into Dean my initial for my name in Enochian and then some spells to play as keys and then he stuck the blade into the heart as the last key,” The angel said solemnly and Sam gasped. “Oh my god! Are you okay? Is my brother okay? Is he alive?” He sputtered. Daniel smiled and ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry, little guy, he’s safe.”

Chuck seemed to be pondering about something, so when Daniel asked him what was it, he shrugged. “I was just wondering. The families’ names are Novak, Campbell and  _Winchester_. Does that mean that Sam has Michael in him?”

Castiel and Chuck looked at Sam, who pointed at himself and shaking asked. “I’m Michael?”

Daniel laughed. “Of course not, little guy. Only the oldest of the family is having the angels. The other has some angel traits but that’s it.”

“So I’m a superman?” Sam asked excitedly and Daniel nodded, “If you want to.”

“But what about Michael then?”

Daniel smiled sadly. “Dean is a special boy; no one has ever survived having two archangels reside within one body.”

“Michael is inside of Dean?!” The trio exclaimed.

“He’s under a second seal. Michael has grown up to be the stronger archangel between the two of us, so he needs special locks to keep him inside one body. I’m one of them,” He sighed.

“So if Castiel and Dean have a child, it’ll have three angels in one body?!” Sam gaped and Castiel flushed.

“Sam! We’re boys! We can’t  _have_  children!” He sputtered, covering his face in embarrassment.

“It’s possible,” Daniel shrugged, and when confronted with Castiel’s death glare he blinked. “What?”

“I’ll kill you,” He said darkly, his hands twitching. “One more word, and I’ll kill you, angel or not.”

Daniel gulped. “You sound exactly like him.”

Sam and Chuck chuckled and the middle-aged man stood up and took Sam’s hand. “I think that we will be heading out, seeing you have more things to talk about. Just be careful,” He winked and dragged the whining boy after him. Daniel and Castiel looked at each other and flushed, looking down to the ground. “U-um… so should I ask Castiel to come out?” The teen mumbled and the angel’s eyes lit up and Castiel reluctantly smiled at the hope that glimmered in those green eyes.

“Really?” The teen nodded.

Daniel hugged him tightly. “You’re the best!”

“J-just give me a moment…” He smiled and closed his eyes.

 _Castiel?_  He thought hesitantly.  _I-if you want to see Daniel… I-I am giving you permission to take over my body. But we’re sharing the body, okay?_

 ** _Of course, I don’t want my vessel to be uncomfortable,_**  a deep and gruff voice chuckled in his ears.  ** _I’ll put you to sleep for the meanwhile, okay?_**

 _Okay,_  and darkness washed him.

* * *

“Castiel?” Daniel mumbled uncertainly when the teen’s body started glowing and wing-shaped grace grew from his back, blue-white and beautiful. The teen raised his head and his eyes glowed in bright blue as he cupped the archangel’s face and gently kissed him.

Daniel smiled against his lips and pulled him closer, not wishing to depart from him ever again. “Castiel, my beloved,” He murmured and wiped the glistening tears that fell from the seraph’s eyes. “Shh… it’s okay, I have you now.”

“Daniel…” Castiel whispered in disbelief. “Is this real? Am I dreaming?”

“It’s real, silly,” Daniel kissed him again, crying in happiness as their grace tangled in each other and grace wings manifested and curled around each other in a cocoon. “I love you.”

“I love you too. I missed you,” Castiel buried his face in his shoulder, hugging him tight, “So, so much.”

“I missed you too,” He kissed his hair and rummaged his fingers over his seraph’s body, feeling his flesh and blood body underneath his clothes and his grace body. “I can’t believe that we’re finally together again.”

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you from Alistair yet again.” Castiel growled. “If only I’d destroyed him on sight…”

“Stop that,” He held Castiel’s chin and lifted it so he could look into his beautiful glowing eyes. He smiled affectionately and kissed him eagerly. “It’s not your fault.”

“But you had to suffer again, and Michael is still locked down,” Castiel bit his lip. “It’s not fair for you and Michael. We were being envied of and Raphael used what we had to bring us down, he cut your wings down!”

Daniel smiled. “He succeeded to cut them only half-way.” He concentrated and his wings took physical form, gold and bloody, half of them hanging on loose strings. Daniel bit his lip from crying in pain and quickly hid them again, letting the wing shaped grace to return. Castiel gasped and hissed. “How could they?”

“Because they could, silly. We’re soldiers, not lovers,” He sighed. Castiel huffed and frowned, but stayed silent, knowing he was right. Instead, he snuggled to his mate and they shared some lazy kisses, basking in the knowledge that they won’t separate again and are in each other’s warm grace. Daniel couldn’t be happier as he held his mate in his arms, ignoring all of his body aching and held Castiel’s face and was happy that his mate’s face and body were already healed.

Castiel noticed his little winching and straightened up in alarm. “Daniel, you are still injured.”

Daniel sheepishly rubbed his nape. “My grace is still recovering and I don’t want to waste any on healing. I’ve been unconscious only for a day, it’s not enough time for me to regain my grace completely after being locked down and forced to come out.”

Castiel frowned. “So why didn’t you tell me, you moron? Do you always have to wait until you collapse until you heal yourself?”

Daniel grinned. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

The seraph sighed and kissed him again, covering his handprint with his hand and letting his grace seep into his mate and heal every crook and nook. Daniel sighed in bliss as he felt Castiel's grace massage every sore muscle Dean’s body had and heal his ritual slashes, filling him with power and helping coaxing his grace to fill him once again. He hummed into his mate’s mouth, and smirked when he grabbed the globes of his firm butt, making Castiel yelp and blush.

“D-Daniel!” He stammered. “We’re in the middle of a  _hospital_!”

“And?” Daniel quirked an eyebrow.

“It’s not a good place to… reunite,” Castiel huffed and grumbled. The archangel sighed in irritation and kissed his mate’s neck. “You right, but I waited all this time… I really want to be with you again, completely.”

“And we’ll be, but not now,” Castiel regretfully pleaded and reluctantly drew back from Daniel’s warm embrace. A knock from the door made them jump and Daniel shouted ‘one more minute’ and adorned a painful face. Castiel sighed in regret. “I think it’s time to return back.”

Daniel’s eyes filled with tears and he kissed his mate hard, not wanting to separate just yet. Castiel returned the kiss, wiping his tears and murmuring apologizes and comforting words, but crying himself.

At the end, they had to draw back and they looked at each other with such longing it was almost unbearable. Their graces intertwined once more before they closed their eyes.

* * *

Castiel gasped and opened his eyes, looking straight into Dean’s wide green eyes and yelped, jumping in his place.

“Cas?” Dean asked uncertainly.

“Dean!” Castiel smiled brightly and hugged him tight. “You’re awake, I’m so glad.”

“What happened? I only remember seeing…” Dean froze and started shivering in his place.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh my god!” Dean searched his body for any sign. “Alistair! He was there with the blade and he slew me with it! How am I still alive?” He heaved and turned a bit blue. Castiel cupped his face. “Dean, breathe! It’s okay, he can’t hurt you anymore!”

“But-” Dean was hyperventilating and Castiel had to slap him on the face to get him back. Dean held his face and looked at Castiel in shock. Castiel breathed deeply, trying to keep himself in order. “Dean, you’re not there anymore. you. are.  ** _SAFE_**. Okay?” He embraced his friend tightly. “You’re safe here, okay? You’re safe with me here.”

Dean clutched Castiel’s shirt and cried silently into it, the trauma from the past week finally following up to him, his body shaking and his sobs are quiet like a child who has seen too much to cry or shout. Castiel’s heart broke hearing those sobs and tried to sooth him as he mumbled comforting words and promises he internally knew he wouldn’t be able to keep from what he heard from Daniel, which added to his already broken heart. Dean didn’t even seem to hear him as he buried his face in his chest and seemed to get even more scared when the door opened and Sam and his father walked in.

“Dean?” Sam quietly asked, afraid to break his brother more than he already was. Dean’s head jerked up as he looked in disbelief at his brother and immediately his mask slipped on, leaving him grinning slightly. “Sammy! What are you doing here?” He asked cautiously, seeming to be nervous.

Sam frowned. “Dean, I know what happened, you don’t need to hide…” He said in a disapproving voice and Dean flinched, knowing he was figured out. “I’m sorry, Sammy.” Sam smiled faintly and sat on the bed. He then embraced his brother. “I was so worried when I had run out and didn’t see you anywhere. How could you do this to me? I had to break my head trying to find you and I find you almost bleeding to death! Can’t you for once take a break from being the hero?!” He cried into his shirt. “You jerk! Always make us worried, you jerk! Jerk!  _Jerk!_ ”

Dean looked pained and guilt washed him. He held his brother close to him and patted his hair and back, “I’m so sorry, Sammy. I promise not worry you anymore, bitch.”

“You already do,” Sam cried out. “Daniel told us that you’ll be in a war soon.”

Dean looked baffled. “Who’s Daniel? What war?” He looked at Castiel suspiciously and Castiel almost slapped his face, he had forgotten that Dean wasn’t aware while Daniel talked to them. “I apologize, Dean. I forgot that you were unconscious when Daniel talked to us.” He turned to Sam. “Can I talk to Dean alone? I need to explain him everything that happened today.”

Sam nodded reluctantly and released his brother. He took Chuck’s hand and left the room again. Chuck stopped before the door and turned to Castiel, “Good luck, Son,” and left.

Dean stared after them warily and then turned to him and folded his arms, “Okay, spill.”

Castiel took a deep breath, “I really don’t know where to start.”

“How about from the start? And don’t spare the details."

So Castiel reluctantly told him everything that happened in that dungeon room and then after Daniel woke up until they returned in control of their bodies. Dean just looked at him with widening eyes, reflecting doubt, fear, concern, and worst of all, understanding of the horrible things happening to them this past week.

After Castiel finished telling him, Dean just sat there silently, his knees drawn to his chest as he looked at the blanket dazedly, his mind is obviously somewhere else. Castiel scooted closer to his friend and touched his knee gingerly. “Dean?”

The teen didn’t look up, but his hand moved to cover his and squeezed a bit. Castiel tilted his head, his eyes sad and kissed the hand, wanting more than ever to make everything alright, to return to the days they were oblivious and happy. He wanted his friend to grace him with his beautiful smiles again, telling him everything is alright even when they’re not. He then felt guilty for being selfish when his friend was hurting.

He was so distracted in his head that he didn’t anticipate it when Dean moved to embrace him and he squeaked in surprise. Dean chuckled and shifted so they were lying on the bed next to each other, Castiel tucked in Dean’s arms. Castiel looked up in puzzlement and Dean smiled at him, a broken smile but a smile nonetheless and it was beautiful and his eyes welled up at the smile. Dean wiped his tears and mumbled to him, “It’ll be fine, I promise.”

It was like he had read his mind. He half smiled and half huffed in defeat, snuggling to his friend’s chest. Dean chuckled. “I think I’m able to read your emotions, feathers.”

“What?” He stiffened and looked up in awe and Dean nodded, looking sheepish. “I think I can read your emotions. I felt you becoming distressed and obviously needed someone to… you know…”

“That’s not fair,” Castiel pouted. “How come you can and not me?” He then closed his mouth when he saw Dean glow with warm light and was afraid for a second that Daniel is trying to take over again, but then realized it was a different light, it felt warm and was more pinkish then Daniel’s white. He looked up and saw himself reflecting in his friend’s eyes and suddenly realized what he was seeing.

“Dean? Do you see them as light?” He asked hesitantly and Dean tilted his head but shook his head.

“I just feel them… why?”

“Because I can see your… feeling for me…” Castiel blushed, “as light… oh, it also covers me,” He looked as the light enveloped them both and looked up to his friend, the light making him look more beautiful than ever. Dean blushed lightly and scratched his jaw, laughing nervously at his friend’s staring. “Um… Cas?”

“What?”

“You’re staring…”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Castiel blinked but still didn’t look away, instead inching closer and Dean sighed, settling to lay back and see what Castiel was thinking to do. Castiel decided to use this rare act of submission to his advantage and tackled him with a kiss, Dean’s surprised squeak swallowed by his lips. Dean relaxed a bit and circled his arms around him and kissed back, conveying his love and uncertainty and fear through his lips, holding him tightly. Castiel tangled his fingers in Dean’s chopped hair, which was getting longer now, glowing with love and comfort.

Dean drew back and started kissing his face, like they had done before they kissed for the first time on the lips, succeeding in tranquillizing him into haze and he sighed contently, feeling his eye-lids growing heavy. He then realized his friend’s plan and whined, trying to stay awake, but Dean didn’t let him and started humming ‘hey Jude’ and he eventually fell asleep again, tucked into Dean’s embrace.


	12. Realization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, this is an important note. i started three months ago my engineer studying in the army so i;m not home most of the time so i'll forget or won't not be able to post so i'm sorry.
> 
> as you can see, i had not updated in two months, so for today you're getting TWO chapters! i'm so sorry. the internet in the house had been broken so i couldn't even get my chapters on the web so i couldn't update them, add the fact that i'm not home most of the time and you have the recipe for not updating at all.
> 
> also, remember that english is not my first language so i'm not that best. but i try my best so please don't sue me

Dean held Castiel's body and finished humming the hymn, feeling warm and content. He felt that no matter what happens, if Cas would be by him, he can face it, albeit hesitantly, but still face it. It had reminded him of the dream when his father and mother hugged him and the man,  _his_   _uncle?_ , was there. He then saw a faint figure materialize before him and sat up, covering Castiel with his body protectively. "Who are you?"

The figure turned into the uncle, but this time it triggered Dean's memory and he gasped in realization, they weren't his dad and mom, it was Sam, Jess and  _him_ , as adults. He reached out to touch the figure and was startled when the man's fingers touched his fingers, like a mirror. This time he asked with wonder. "Who  _are_  you?"

The man smiled. "I'm Daniel, Castiel probably already explained to you about me." Dean blinked and withdrew his hand, awed to see that the man is copying him exactly. He untangled himself from Castiel and covered him with a blanket. He circled the bed toward Daniel and reached out again, Daniel's fingers copied his motions.

Dean looked in fascination at the angel and then sat on the floor cross-legged. "So… you're the angel locked inside of me?" He asked half-nonchalantly.

Daniel chuckled. "Kinda, except that you could have just said yes to me and I would've have taken control, or share according to Castiel." He smiled affectionately at the body in the bed. "Everything is kinda hard on him, you know."

"I know," Dean nodded. "But about Michael…"

"Oh right, you're probably wondering about that dream three days ago," Daniel turned solemn. "You have no idea how sorry I am for Michael's behavior. He knows that it's not wise to scare his vessels, but he was bored and you had finally opened up to the angel wave-lengths, so he took the advantage."

Dean laughed nervously, scare him? More like gave him a heart-attack. If this was the angel's way of scaring out of boredom, then he does not want to be on the ending side of a  _real scare_. "So he's like Sammy in many ways, then."

"That he is," Daniel laughed sincerely. "I always wondered why Michael didn't decide to reside inside of him instead of you. Would be more comfortable that way."

"Yeah, because an angel and a human sharing one body is  _so_  much more comfortable," Dean muttered sarcastically.

Daniel's smile faded. "I know this is probably hard on you, finding all about this in one day and after… what happened with Alistair…"

"On that note, why did he want me, or you, or  ** _whatever,_**  so friggin' much?!" Dean snapped.

"Honestly? I don't know… if he wanted the strongest archangel, he would go to Michael, something I would not let him do, by the way. But I'm only second in rank and I was injured by the execution, my wings would never go back to their former glory."

Dean felt sorry for the angel and he laid a hand on his shoulder, feeling weird to touch a future version of himself. "But now you have Castiel, right? And Alistair is dead so who cares?"

Daniel smiled bitterly at him. "That's true, but I can't shake the feeling that we would be targeted again, not counting Michael."

"And usually your guts are right, right?" The angel nodded grimly. "Then how about laying low for a while and until we find out what happened you'll stay hidden? I can arrange with Cas times you can take over and reunite, because, man, I know how it feels not to be able to be with the one you love."

Daniel smiled gratefully at him, "You and Castiel are really wondrous humans indeed. We had never met someone who had let an angel take over occasionally to make love with another angel." Dean flushed furiously, "Well, it does help that me and Cas are like that as well."

"Ah, right, the handprints, this is the proof that you did the deed," Daniel ruffled his hair. "The two of you are so similar to us in so many ways I feel almost like we're your parents."

"Like we feel about Sammy and Jess?" Dean pondered. Daniel nodded. "Like we feel about Michael."

"Dean?" Castiel slurred, his hands looking frantically for him. Dean sighed affectionately and held them, noticing that his friend calmed down immediately, his face adorning a beautiful smile. Daniel chuckled and he glared at him, bright red.

"He's so much like him," Daniel sighed and Dean felt like when his father would look at him in his rare moments of sobriety and tell him that he's exactly like his mother. He felt pride and sadness wash him and released his friend. "I'm sorry that even now, you have to be separated from Castiel."

"Thank you, little one. But seeing you two happy makes me feel like I'm with Castiel as well, so you need not worry about us." The angel glowed and looked almost surprised, but then rubbed his nape sheepishly. "Apparently it's time for me to take a nap, it takes a lot of grace to put enough of me here that you would be able to see me and that I won't completely be out of your body. It uses a lot of concentration."

"I see… well, take care and Cas and I will talk about mushy-times with you two," Dean grinned and shook Daniel's hand before the angel dissolved unto grace and seeped into his body, making his skin glow for a second and then fade.

Dean looked over to his friend and climbed back into the bed, pulling Castiel into his arms, praying he could find a way for Daniel and Castiel to be together without harming his Castiel.

* * *

Chuck and Sam sat outside the hospital room quietly. They didn't know what to say and to be honest, they didn't know each other very well either. Eventually, Sam coughed and smiled nervously at the adult. "I read your series and I think that you did a great job writing Jensen and Jared, although I always think you should change their names to Dean and Sam, like who you based them on."

Chuck looked at him and perked up. "I know! I just couldn't find the right names, so I went with them and I just couldn't believe that when I'd met you guys, that I didn't think of those names right away. They are so  _perfect_  to my characters, and that would go so well with Castiel the angel."

"Right! I saw how you put Castiel and Jensen together so subtly that no one who hadn't read the story as close as they should have would have missed it completely."

Chuck glimmered with pride. "I'm so honored that you noticed that and honestly, I couldn't resist taking some things from your brother and my son's relationship, my wife would be so proud of me." Sam laughed and they started talking about aspects and hidden motives and motifs in the story excitedly. "Jared is the main character of every comic; the one with superpowers, the one everyone wants, and the one who's in danger consistently of turning bad-side," Sam pointed out. "He's like me in many ways, but I only have angel aspects while Dean is the one with the superpowers."

"But don't forget that Jensen is an angel's vessel as well, and that's what Dean is. His powers are not his while Jared's are his, like your blood."

"Did you notice that there are a lot of similarities between the story and what is happening right now?" Sam asked suddenly and Chuck felt dread wash him. "How did you come up with the ideas anyway? Are they related to your headaches?"

"I always had headaches, but they got worse when we'd found Castiel and I imagined I heard someone telling me to hide him. My dreams were also full of weird sceneries like the ones I wrote, but I changed the dreams completely; I aged them, gave them names, gave them different backgrounds, I made the world different and made them hunters," Chuck explained. "After a while, the dreams became that world I created and I used them as an inspiration."

Sam blanched. "Sir, how the dreams looked at first?"

Chuck pondered for a bit before replying. "Well? Jensen and Castiel were teenagers but had angels inside them and Jared was a pre-teen with angel blood. The brothers' mother died from a demon as well, Azazel, as he locked Lucifer inside Jared. Jeffery was a drunkie, like me. I think that was it or something like that, why?" He looked at Sam and his eyes narrowed in worry. "Are you okay, son?"

Sam was pale as sheet, "Sir… everything you said right now were what we are right now. And if you are right… then that means… I'm Lucifer?" He choked. Chuck soaked in what he had just said and his face paled as well, he looked at Sam, who was close to tears, shivering as a leaf. "I remember that man saying to Dean 'don't worry, the prophet is in his bed…' I'm a prophet? I saw all that years ago?!"

Sam started shaking and clawed on his skin, wanting to burn it and get the devil out of him. Chuck, seeing he kid clawing at himself, grabbed Sam's shoulders. "Sam, you're not Lucifer, you were just chosen by the demons to put Lucifer after they freed him from Hell. That means we can get him out of you and kill it." Sam nodded weakly and started crying, "Why me? Why am I the devil?! Am I evil?"

"No, dear god, you're  _not_  evil," Chuck scolded him. "I saw Jensen managing to save Jared from Lucifer, then that means you'll be released from him. You're  _not evil_ , you have angel blood inside of you, that must means something."

"What's going on?" Dean opened the door, followed by a sleepy Castiel. He looked at Sam and immediately rushed to pull him away from Chuck, his protective-big-brother mode on. He growled at Chuck, "What did you do to my brother?"

Sam clutched at Dean's shirt and cried hysterically. "Dean! I-I know why Mom was murdered twelve years ago."

"Murdered? What do you mean?" Dean was baffled. His mom died from an accident. He slightly pulled Sam back into his room. "Let's go inside, okay? You can tell me everything in there." Sam nodded and Dean carried him back into the room and sat cross-legged on the bed, Sam between them and in his arms. "Now, what do you mean 'murdered'?"

Sam sniffled. "Dean, Daniel told us that Lucifer is out of hell and is on earth. But I know where he is…"

The teen's eyes grew wider. "You know?" Sam nodded. "I had a weird dream several days ago… and I finally remembered it… I met an archangel named Gabriel and I was inside a room with a black box with shackles locking it. Gabriel told me not to touch it, otherwise I would release something nasty. I didn't know what he meant back then, but now I know. Azazel, a demon came to our house in order to place Lucifer inside of me."

"What?!" Dean snapped. "How dared he? Kill mom  _and_  put Lucifer inside of you?! I'm gonna kill him."

"But are we going to do? We can't kill Sam if we want to kill Lucifer," Chuck hesitantly said and flinched when the teens turned to glare at him. Dean bristled. "Don't you dare to  ** _even_**  suggest that."

"I didn't! I just know it's possible to separate him from Lucifer, but we need Daniel and Michael  _and_ Castiel to fight him. Why else three angels would be put in three separate people? But now Michael and Daniel are in the same body, and Michael is still locked." The group fell into silence, knowing that he was right, Sam was still a bit hysteric and clutched unto Dean's shirt, scared to open his eyes.

"What's important now is to protect Sammy from Azazel and from anyone wanting to set the devil free," Dean concluded and the older trio nodded. "Are you sure?" Sam asked. "I mean, shouldn't you just kill me and end this fight?" Dean looked at him like he was a nut-case. "Are you insane or just suicidal?! That's unacceptable! I'm not letting anyone hurt you on my watch!"

"And here's the brother I always liked!" Everyone looked at a small kid with longish light brown hair and gold eyes, licking a lollipop.

"Gabriel!" Sam exclaimed and rushed to hug the archangel. Gabriel almost fell backwards and squeaked. "Hey, no damaging my beautiful face, I still need to wow the ladies."

"Like you could do it anyway," Sam happily said and turned to the small group. "Everyone meet my guardian angel, Gabriel. Gabe, meet everyone."

"Hiya, everyone!" Chimed Gabriel. "Never knew they were so much of everyone in the same room."

"Funny," Dean rolled his eyes. "So you're Sammy's guardian, shrimp?" He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Oh, hello there, Daniel or Michael or whatever you'd decided to be right now," Gabriel shrugged and Dean grumbled about cheeky annoying little bastards. "Why did you show yourself right now?" Sam asked. "You said that Dean has a guardian angel as well, but I never met him and Dean wasn't very protected…" He pouted, "Were you lying to me?"

"Nah, Castiel just isn't the best guardian angel there is, not to mention he never knew he was born as one when paired with Daniel after they were created."

"So Castiel was Daniel's protector?" Dean asked curiously and peered at his friend, who looked sad and guilty, and held his hand reassuringly. Castiel smiled at him gratefully and squeezed the hand back.

"Why do you think he has such annoying mommy thoughts of protecting Dean-o every second of his life and almost kills himself if Dean-o gets hurt? If the court wasn't such a bitch about it, they would have trained him as such. But instead they put the two of them together and basically tells them to work it out alone, no wonder they mixed up with the humans and dragged Michael with them," Gabriel sounded annoyed and pained, like Dean would be when Sam was hurt in any way that wasn't right. Dean smiled and ruffled the archangel's hair, "So you're the big brother, huh? Hard to see that with your vessel," He joked and Gabriel sticks his lollipop in his stomach with such power that has Dean clutch his stomach and curse him rapidity.

"But why would Raphael try to weaken us… them?"

"Because he's jealous, that's why. Moose here thought that it was Azazel's idea to put Lucifer inside of him? Fah, as if! It was Raphael and Zachariah who helped him to free Lucifer from his cage and find the Daniel's and Michael's vessel's house, where they used Moose to conceal Lucifer and when your mother dearest tried to interfere, they killed her and then tried to kill Dean-o as a result, but John interrupted them at the last moment."

"So it was my fault that mom died?" Dean and Sam said at the same time, then looked at each other with disapproving glares. "No, my family is the one to blame," Gabriel grimaced. "But I really didn't want to get myself into this war until I stumbled across one particular book, 'Changing Channels' was it?"

Chuck's eyes grew wide. "You read that?"

"Yeah, and I've got to say, one of the best ideas I'd ever used on annoying people that didn't get the idea. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. When Jensen and Jared, managed to trap Richard in the holy fire circle, Jensen said one thing that made me understand which side I should root for." He took out a note and swirled it to Dean, who grasped it and read it out loud; "' _And just for the record_ ,  _this isn't about some prize fight between your brothers, or some destiny that can't be stopped. This is about **you**  being too afraid to stand up to your family!_'"

Everyone looked at Chuck, who blushed and scratched his beard nervously. "Who would have thought that one of my quotes will change one archangel's mind?"

"Yes, who would've thought?" Dean and Castiel exchanged amused glances. Gabriel sniggered. "Yeah, well… this prophet isn't known for his bravery and charisma. But you should have seen Luke, he was worse; drinking or coward-wise." Chuck flushed in shame and Castiel took pity in him and hugged him tightly. "I think that you're the best father and prophet in the world." Chuck smiled and pecked his dark hair, "Thank you, son, I'm so glad that I'm not completely worthless."

"Who said anything about worthless?" Gabriel quirked an eyebrow. "Your papa here is the prophet of the great war. As a messenger, I know when a prophet is worthless or not, and you drunkie, are not."

Chuck sniffled. "Thank you, sir archangel."

Gabriel huffed and puffed out his chest in pride, "Your welcome."

Sam tugged Chuck's shirt and the prophet looked down, "What's wrong, Sammy?" Sam looked in a pointed look at him and Chuck almost slapped his face for forgetting the conversation they had and turned to the archangel. "Gabriel, how can we take Lucifer out of Sam here without hurting him?"

Gabriel fell into a deep thought for a while, spacing around his place and playing with the lollipop, mumbling some things but then shaking his head and biting the lollipop and so forth. Dean was getting agitated and after twenty minutes, snapped.

"How about I get home first and then I'll get something other than  _sugar_  into your system and maybe  **then**  you'll magically poof a solution out of your ass?"

Gabriel glared at him. "This is not an easy problem, Dean-o. But… I'll accept your offer." Dean huffed and then shooed them out of the room, already wanting to be by himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and Sam is lucifer. so who is surprised? no one? ... oh well, i guess the show pretty much spoilered that already.


	13. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the second chapter i'll update today. have fun i'm sorry for it being short

After pressing the call-button for a whole hour, which during the time the group went back inside, one of the nurses had finally came in and was met with a bristling Dean and a grinning Gabriel. The two of them were running around the room, with the rest sitting on the bed and shaking their heads with the exception of Sam, who was clapping and yelling at Dean to run faster.

"What's going on here?" She demanded to know and they all froze and looked at her sheepishly. Dean then straightened up and glared at her. "Well, finally! I want to get out of here!"

She bit her lip from retorting, the start of her shift already going badly, but she didn't know Dean's previous condition so she wasn't shocked. She just told him to wait and went for the head doctor to tell him. Dr. Sherman froze when he heard the news. He turned to ask her with a very serious look, "Are you sure that Dean Winchester was  _running_  around the room?" She nodded and he took off, leaving her alone in the corridor.

"What the hell is wrong with people 'round here?" She grumbled and stalked off.

* * *

Dr. Sherman slammed the door open and his jaw fell to the ground as he saw Dean kissing Castiel to the encouragement of everyone, Castiel blushing and spluttering that they were in a  _hospital_  and then glaring at Gabriel, who dared Dean to do it. He then cleared his throat and Dean glared at someone for the second time in an hour. "What do you want, doc?"

"I want to ask how a coma patient is suddenly all good and dandy, running around and kissing… their friends," The doctor took off his glasses and cleaned them nervously.

"I feel better and I really want to get out of this hell-hole. I have some work to do!" Dean ignored him and started walking toward the door, already dressed courtesy of Chuck and his thank-for-god wardrobe obsession, but was stopped by the doctor. "I need to check you up and then I'll sign you out, okay?" Dr. Sherman had to admit that this was nothing short than a miracle; half-dead teenager jumping off the bed after less-then-a-day-coma like nothing happened to him. But he seemed antsy and nervous, and his guts were telling him that he should release this teen soon before something bad will happen.

One hour later, they walked out of the hospital and Gabriel zapped them back to their house. Dean immediately disappeared into the kitchen, muttering about the promise to a certain archangel brat. Sam wanted to follow his brother, sensing his distress, but Castiel stopped him and flashed him a tight-lipped reassuring smile. "Dean needs little time alone, okay?" Sam nodded, pouting and looking longingly at the kitchen's door, wanting to go to his brother and not let him go again after the events of the past week.

Dean started the fire when he felt a pull in his chest and clenched it, confused. "Dean…" Said teen sighed and looked at Daniel, who manifested again by his side. "We need to talk."

"So talk," Dean waved his hand, not really into sharing time with the angel. Daniel huffed. "I meant the three of us, Dean." The teen stopped whatever he did and slowly turned to glare at the archangel, "I thought that Michael was still locked, no?"

"He can't get out of his part in your body, but we can pull some of his conscious to me so we can speak the three of us."

"How will we do it then? But can we do it  _after_  dinner? I'm hungry," He lied.

"No, you're not," Daniel caught him on his lie. "You had your angelic powers awaken, so you don't need so much food to sustain yourself as a normal human-being."

"Great… but can we?"

"No time. Gabriel felt it as well. The real traitors and the demon had started the wheels of their plans to roll. We need to get Michael's opinion right now!"

"But he was a fledging when he was locked down! How can he know  _anything_  about the world?"

"We still had some of our grace floating around and investigating the earth. Only that in this particular reincarnation we had all of our grace completely locked down."

Dean clenched his fists, his idea of relaxation ruined completely by angels and demons and their stupid plans. He felt the archangel place a hand on his shoulder and warmth and calmness washed him and he was getting a bit panicked, "What are you doing?"

"Releasing some grace into your system. You're upset and not thinking straight, so this will help you relax and put your mind in what we're facing. How do you feel?"

"Like I want to sleep for a week," Dean grumbled. "I should stop the fire… I don't to burn this house again," He said, slightly flinching.

Daniel nodded and turned off the fire, touching the half-finished stew, and suddenly the stew was cooked and ready to serve. Then Daniel whisked him to his room and laid him on the bed, stroking his hair softly. "We need to work quick, Dean."

"Okay…" Dean yawned and gave up, letting the archangel release more grace and started to feel as if he was starting to burn up, but the grace also kept him sluggish and tired so the only thing he did was protest weakly and whimper when the pain became too much. "Shh… I'm sorry, but the locks are not to be released on a whim, unlike mine, and it takes a lot of grace to crack them, so bear with me, please," Daniel whispered into his hair and held him tightly as his body twitched and shook. "Just one more seal…"

Then Dean's vision was filled with white light and a voice echoed in his head,  _'Finally! Thank you, big brother'._

"Michael?" Daniel asked hopefully, "How are you doing?"

_'Like I was stuck in a box for millenniums, you idiot! How do you think I feel? I'm sore!'_

"Sorry 'bout that," Daniel chuckled and slowly the grace retreated into it's rightful corner and Dean felt like he gulped down a bottle of pure caffeine and sat straight, seeing that another figure was sitting by Daniel's adult-Dean body. The newest addition was him as a child, ten years old or younger. It was really weird seeing himself as two versions; the past and the future, seeing what he was and what he was going to become. He felt like chuckling and started giggling until he out-blown laughed.

"What's so funny?" Michael pouted, only succeeding in making him laugh harder. Daniel shook his head, "One of the side of affects of get drained of a sleeping spell too quickly, it's like waking up after having two buckets of dark coffee, very strong and not good for you."

"Well, then why did you do it?"

"Wait and see…" Daniel chuckled and motioned for his little brother to look at their human. Slowly, Dean got quieter until he stopped laughing and he froze, and blushed so hard he became purplish-red. He looked so strange that the two archangels laughed at his face. "See?" Daniel wiped his eyes. Dean scowled, only adding to their giggling, "Are we going to talk about the reason you asked  _so nicely_  to bring Michael out?"

The angels immediately sobered down and looked serious. Michael sighed, not looking like the kid he was anymore, "I may have an idea for our problem with Sammy and big brother Lucifer."

"Talk then."

"We'll use our grace to enter Sammy's body and force Lucifer to come out of his body in his true form, and then we combine our powers and Castiel's to stop him."

"Another option?" Dean ruled that one out without thinking; it was too risky and Sam could get hurt, or worse, killed. "How about capturing Azazel and force him to tell how to get the bastard out of my brother?"

"Too risky, they would know where you are and try to kidnap Sam," Michael glared at him. They started to throw out suggestions, and while most of them sounded good, Dean was too scared they'll hurt his brother so he didn't let anyone of them get through. And while the angels understood that, they were getting impatient with him. Thankfully, before they could actually  _do_  something about their annoyance, a soft knock interrupted them and Dean jumped off his bed and opened the door to reveal Sam standing with big worried eyes.

The minute the boy saw him, he jumped on him and started crying into his shirt. Startled, Dean picked him up and brought him to the bed and let him cry until his brother started shouting at him, "What were you thinking, leaving the kitchen without noticing any of us? I thought you were taken or worse, hurt! And here you are, talking to yourself."

"I'm talking to the angels, and I'm sorry Sammy…" Dean felt guilt wash him, how could he talk about not hurting his brother if what all he seems to do lately is hurt him? Daniel sighed and ruffled Sam's hair, "I'm sorry, little one. I made your brother a bit tired, so he didn't notice that we didn't leave a note behind." Sam looked up in surprise and almost screamed at the sight of Daniel. He gripped Dean's arm and breathed out 'what an old you doing here?' before stopping and calming down. "You're Daniel, right?" The archangel smiled and nodded. Then Sam looked at Michael and almost squealed, but instead he jumped on him and gushed over him. "You're so cute! I never knew my brother was so adorable back then, you're Michael, right?" Both Dean and Michael flushed in embarrassment, only the latter was also struggling to get the pre-teen off him.

"Sammy, get off of him," Dean pried him off from the younger archangel, noting the relieved and grateful gaze he saw on his face. "Sam… can I ask you a favor?" Michael asked after they relaxed and sat back on the bed, Sam hugging the little archangel. "What is it?"

"Can you help us on getting your brother to agree on our plans?"

"What plans?" Sam didn't like the way this was going to… "You mean…?"

"Yes, about getting Lucifer out of your body," Michael sighed. "Your brother is so scared you would get hurt that he's not agreeing for any of the plans. We don't have much time," He and Daniel were already glowing and Dean felt prickles of pain in his chest.

"Okay," Sam said bravely before Dean could protest.

"Okay, here we go…"

* * *

"So… are you sure you okay with this?" Dean asked that night as he and Sam settled in the bed that night. After talking, the angels went back into Dean, almost causing him to faint, but he managed to gather himself before doing something so humiliating in front of his brother. Then they went down and Dean asked from Castiel if he could sleep with his father tonight, because he has to talk to Sam alone and he wants to be there only for that night. Castiel smiled and kissed him shortly, telling him that he can do it as much as he want and retreated to the spare room, dragging his already drinking father after him.

"Sammy?" Dean asked quietly when Sam looked down, not answering.

"I have to… I mean, we can't let Azazel use me before Lucifer is destroyed and I don't want to be the devil…"

"But that's too risky," Dean licked his lips and swallowed thickly, not wanting to say the next words. "You could get… killed."

"I know, but I still want to try," Sam bravely squeaked. Dean narrowed his eyes, seeing through his brother's brave act right away. "Really?" Sam weakly nodded, but then flinched when Dean cupped his face and big pearly tears fell down his big wide eyes. Dean sighed, "You don't have to act for me, I'll always think that you're brave, especially now after everything that had happened."

"But you can't be afraid?" Sam sniffled, frowning at his big brother. "That's not the issue right now, Sammy, this is about you and what you're going to do," Dean slightly seethed, but then realized that he was probably scaring his brother and took a deep breath. "I-I just don't want to lose you, and I know that you don't want to die either. You're just a child. Kids are allowed to be afraid…"

"You sure?" Sam meekly asked, his tears falling down faster. Dean nodded and Sam shook, burying his face into his brother's shirt and cried loudly. "Why me?! Why am I the one who has to go through this?! I don't know what to do anymore. Help me, Dean!"

Dean held him tightly, soothing him and telling him that everything will be alright, that he's watching over him. When Sam wasn't relaxing, he started to sing 'Hey Jude', like Mary would do when he was scared. Sam hiccupped and sniffled, but seemed to be surprised by the sudden act. The song slowly made him sluggish, though, and soon he was sleeping in his brother's arms, protected as much as he could be and his face serene.

"I'm so sorry, Sammy," Dean gritted his teeth. "I wish I could change everything and take it upon myself. I wish you didn't need to grow up so fast, that's not fair."

He closed his eyes and prayed, "Why did you choose him, why? I never prayed for you, yeah, but my brother believes in you and in your stupid plans. If you needed someone to punish, you should have chosen me," loathing a god that had made his little brother suffer.


	14. End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the last chapter of the first part. next time would be the second part which we see the consequences of their actions.  
> this episode is long because i didn't want to separate the chapters, bear with me.  
> enjoy.

They were inside a deserted barn. Dean and Castiel sat at the edge, hidden by crates. Sam stood in the middle of a big circle with all kind of symbols and markings and under a big demon trap, trembling a bit. Chuck was stuck in home and had Bobby and Karen with him after Bobby had threaten him with a screw-driver if he didn't tell him immediately what had happened in the hospital and Chuck had crumbled and told them everything. Of course, Bobby wanted to come with them, but Dean and Castiel told him that this was a fight between non-human beings, so it wouldn't be wise for him to be with them. Grudgingly, Bobby had agreed and Karen told them that she was waiting with pies for them, so they should come back healthy and whole. The trio agreed whole-heartedly and hugged the two of them tightly before leaving the house with heavy-hearts. And Jess, after many arguments, agreed to stay at her house, but she had dragged Sam to the side and gave him a big kiss on the lips before telling him that if he doesn't come back, she'll drag his butt back and will kick it to hell. Sam, still dumbfounded, just nodded.

Castiel peered at his friend and saw him clutching the angel blade so hard that his knuckles became white. "Dean, everything is going to be just fine, trust them."

"I know, I know, but I have a bad feeling about this. I can't think but feel that the minute Azazel will get here that something worse will happen." Castiel sighed, sharing his feelings, but patted his hair reassuringly. "Don't worry, Daniel and Castiel will make sure that Sammy won't get hurt."

They waited until the sun was high in the sky and Sam looked in fear at his brother, who nodded and smiled proudly at him, and started reciting the summoning in Latin. The circle glowed and black smoke circled the place until it build up before Sam and melded into a man with blond hair and swirling yellow eyes. The man took a look at Sam and smiled warmly, "Ah… my child, it's so good to see you after all these years. I wanted to finally meet you formally for so long."

Sam made a face of disgust, "For what? To use me to take over the world? To use my body for Lucifer as a vessel?" He stood straight and didn't let a hint of fear rule his body and Azazel looked at him with pride.

"No, I wanted you as a son for all this time. You're special, like many children that had caught my eye. You have powers… unfortunately, I wasn't able to give you my other gift before your mother had interrupted us, but know that I can always give you it."

"Powers?" Sam felt like laughing. "Then you should have looked at my brother and Cas, they have angels in them. The powers I have are from the angel blood."

"But you don't have an angel ruling over your body. You have your own powers… Anyway…" Azazel stepped closer to him. "I want you to use that gift to bring Lucifer out. You're his rightful vessel, the only one that can hold his greatness inside of his body."

"No."

"I see, I guess I have no choice then… I feel terrible for that," The demon snapped his fingers and four things happened.

One, the demon trap on the ceiling was cracked and many black smokes came rushing in, surrounding them.

Secondly, Azazel zapped himself before Sam and stuck a hand into his chest, making him scream in pain.

"Sam!" Dean jumped from his hiding place, the plan flying out of the window, and stuck the blade into Azazel.

"Hello, Dean," the demon looked at him as he glowed. "You're too late," He exploded and Dean caught the unconscious kid who fell to the ground, "SAM!"

Thirdly, a group of demons circled Castiel and the teen slashed at them, crying to the angel for help.

Finally, another group of high-level demons attacked Dean and Daniel came forth, bursting everything with light around him, including the demons, which disintegrated into dust immediately.

Daniel held Sam and noticed the light that surrounded him. He laid the pre-teen on the floor and stepped back when the small body was warped in an orb of light and unfurled two dark scorched wings. Sam stood up and looked at Daniel with a fake smile.

"Daniel, how delightful is to see you," He almost purred, and that coming out of Sam seemed almost scarier than the knowledge of who is this person himself.

Daniel smiled reluctantly. "Hello, dear brother, I haven't seen you since you fell. And if my memory doesn't betray me, it was when I was a century old. How are you doing?"

"Lovely…"

Daniel sighed and raised his hand. "You know I have to do that." His eyes brimmed with tears. Lucifer sighed. "You're not really going to do that, you and Castiel were like my little kids. You won't kill your surrogate father, would you?"

"Ever since you betrayed us, you had deserted that title,  _Lucifer_."

"So harsh."

"Shut up," Daniel started reciting in Enochian and the circle underneath them started glowing and Lucifer was pulled out of Sam's body by streaks of light and then was floating between the two bodies as an orb.

The orb was red and black, and was flaming, shooting toward Daniel knifes and silver blades. Daniel evaded them and shouted to Castiel to come and help him.

Castiel, the angel, flew toward him, but was flown back by an invisible force. He fell on his back and swiftly sat up, looking surprised at the edge of the circle.

Daniel eyed him and cursed, realizing that for some reason Castiel can't come in and help him, so he had to break completely the seals on Michael, but he couldn't do it while being attacked one after the other. More than ever, he didn't understand why was  _he_  the one chosen to be the first one to get released. Michael was much more powerful than him and could have faced their brother head-on.

The orb twitched, and Lucifer's voice echoed, "Ah… little brother can't fight me? Do you want to call the brother I hadn't had the chance to meet yet? Oh, I forget, he can't come out completely if you get severely damaged. Now let's see what we can do about it…"

Suddenly, three orbs appeared and shot beams from each side and Daniel had to fly up to avoid them, but the blast when the beams met threw him to the ceiling and he was crushed through the thick wood to the attic's roof where it was tiles and he finally stopped flying at that, but then the orbs appeared around him.

"DANIEL!" Castiel voice cried out when the orbs released black beams and hit him dead on. Daniel screamed and then lost conscious as the beams slashed through his flesh and into his grace. His body peeled off from the roof and started falling down to the ground.

 _'DANIEL! No, don't die, I need you!'_  Michael was screaming at his big brother, but Daniel didn't hear him.

 _'Daniel! Michael's right, you can't fail us right now,!_  Dean cried as well.

But Daniel crushed into the floor. And an enormous dent formed from where he landed, sending Sam flying to the other side of the room and crumple onto the ground. The crush made the force surrounding them vanish. Castiel rushed to his mate and gathered him into his arms, yelling for him to wake up.

Lucifer's orb formed into a man with dirty blond hair and tired eyes, visible only to those who can stand the true form of angels' grace. He stood by them and sighed. "I didn't want to do this, little brother, but I had no choice."

"Don't," Castiel snarled at him. "Do us a last favor as our big brother and don't lie to us."

"What are you going to do then?" Lucifer smiled sadly.

" ** _You're not doing anything, Lucifer,_** " Daniel spoke and stood on his legs, another force shield of wind forming around him.

"Oh?" Lucifer and Castiel looked both in shock at him. But then the archangel laughed, "He's not even conscious."

And he was right, Daniel was standing like a sleep-walker, his eyes closed and face pale, but his body completely healed. He then opened his eyes and they were bright blue, and four enormous gold wings erupted from his back.

"Michael…" Lucifer grinned. "Finally meeting you, it's a pleasure."

" ** _Shut up, you bastard,_** " Michael spat and two flaming angel blades flew to his hands and he charged at Lucifer.

They started to battle, but even with all of Michael's power and fate, he was losing as well, seeing Lucifer was older and more experienced than all of them together.

"So even the great archangel everyone was talking about is that weak?" Lucifer teased and Michael cried in pain and anger as the fallen pierced through his left top wing.

"Shut up!" Castiel cried and joined the battle; now it was two angels facing Lucifer.

* * *

Sam felt something stir him and he opened his eyes, taking his surrounding and immediately getting scared and trying to find a place to hide – The place was in ruins, now open to the skies. But somehow he was far away from the battle.

He turned and saw the small archangel eat a lollipop. "Gabe?"

"Hey, kiddo. How do you feel?" Gabriel asked him with sad and tired eyes.

"I feel okay… but what about my brother and Cas?"

The angel's face turned grim. "Not good, Lucifer gathered more power in the cage than we had thought. He now has the power of demons and the fallen he had devoured. Daniel isn't fit for battle, so Michael and Castiel are now fighting."

"Why can't you fight as well? You're an archangel, you can fight!" Sam exclaimed. Gabriel looked at him with sad bemusement. "Don't you think I'd tried that? I can't. Azazel had been told I would be here and placed sigils against me. I don't know where he had put them, or I would have destroyed them and fight as well."

"So how did you get me?"

"Easy, I just zapped you here. Luckily, I don't need to touch you to bring you somewhere." Sam nodded and turned toward the place the barn used to be, silently praying that everything will end well.

* * *

"Come on, Michael, I almost killed your precious brother. I'm sure you could do a better job than that," Lucifer nonchalantly evaded the attacks of the two angels.

"Shut up, you traitor!" Michael shouted and managed to cut Lucifer's hand-shaped grace and the old fallen cried and stumbled back before jumping to the side to avoid Castiel's sword.

Lucifer laughed. "Good job, fledging!" He then zapped in front of Castiel and stuck his sword into his stomach. "CASTIEL!" Michael cried and rushed to his brother, who fell to the ground. He managed to heal the wound enough that it won't be life-fatal. He then turned to Lucifer and had to fly away to avoid his beams.

Sam and Gabriel looked up to see Michael landing by them, laying Castiel on the floor. "Please protect him, Gabriel," He begged and flew back to Lucifer, who whistled in awe. "How nice of you, to worry so much about Castiel, I'm so touched right now." Michael ignored him and took out his two flaming blades again but concealed his wings seeing two of them were pierced through and it would hurt him too much to move with them. He charged at Lucifer and slashed at him in vain, so caught up in his anger and hopelessness that he couldn't concentrate and therefore couldn't land a hit on the fallen.

Lucifer used that and evaded him until he was too tired and then struck with his sword to pierce his chest. Michael froze in his place, slowly looking down to his chest, where the sword was burning and looked back up to his fallen brother, who had a grim look on his face. "I'm sorry, Michael, but it had to be done. Rest well." He yanked out the sword and the archangel collapsed to the ground.

* * *

Dean opened his eyes and had found himself in his bedroom. He blinked and saw that instead of the bed he usually used, he was faced with a cradle with a baby in it. He inched closer and saw that the baby was like the pictures of himself he saw in dad's album.

"Is that… me?"

"Yes and no." He turned to see Daniel walk toward him with a sullen face. The archangel stood by the cradle and gingerly picked the sleeping baby and held him close to his chest, cooing and chuckling a bit. Dean looked at him dumbly and he blushed. "It's what I used to do to Michael when he was just created."

"Daniel, not that I don't appreciate you being nice to baby me, but what are you doing? Why are we here and where is Michael?"

Daniel signaled Dean to take the baby from him. Dean took the baby and damn, if he didn't feel protective toward it although he knew it was him. It was a strange feeling.

"We're here because we have no other choice. Michael has lost. The baby here is his grace, it was injured badly so he was forced to become this."

"We… lost?" Dean almost fell to his knees, but didn't do it because of the baby in his arms. "What about Cas and Sammy?"

"They're someplace safe, but we have to do something drastic before Lucifer will get away."

"What can we do? Michael was our tramp card and he lost."

"We have one thing left." Dean looked at him with suspicion. "Fuse our graces and your soul. The force of that will destroy everything that is in the radius of a mile."

"And it will destroy Lucifer as well?"

"Yes."

Dean smiled and shifting the baby in his arms, he stood before Daniel. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"

"Dean, you need to know that it's very dangerous," Daniel narrowed his eyes. "You can't take it lightly. We can get killed or worse, we can lose control and destroy a bigger place than just a couple of meters."

"We're in the middle of nowhere for miles, and my family is in a safe place. 'tis fine, we'll be okay," Dean nodded and Daniel sighed but grinned as well. "Fine, now close your eyes and relax, it will hurt," Daniel instructed and Dean complied and felt wings wrap around him and the angel embraced him tightly, careful of the baby.

"I'm so sorry, Dean," Daniel said, but before Dean could ask why, white-hot pain seared in him, leaving him completely empty as he felt something warm but painful fill him.

" _Tria annectetur: Archangelum, rex fledgling et Messias…_ " Daniel prayed and the whole room lit up as Dean couldn't take a breath to scream and Michael started to cry loudly.

"Shh…  _Nolite turbari, omnia ista licet_ …" He said and everything exploded.

* * *

"Hmm…?" Lucifer turned when Dean's body, which was lying on the floor, started to pulse and glow. Lucifer felt as the air shimmered and rippled as power flew past him.

"He didn't…" The fallen's eyes widened in astonishment. He opened his wings and flew right away as the air exploded and a big wave of force blew outwards.

"You idiot! You just made everything worse!" Lucifer laughed as the force reached him and disintegrated him completely in a mere-second.

* * *

"What's going on?" Sam asked when Gabriel grabbed him and Castiel and transported them immediately to the Winchester house. Gabriel looked at him with big scared eyes, "That idiot had done it this time."

"Done what? Is Dean gonna be alright?" Sam panicked.

"Daniel fused them," Gabriel explained. "The three of them are one unity now, and the blast from something like that is so powerful it could even harm god."

"Then that means…"

"Lucifer is dead… but probably the three of them as well…" Gabriel admitted.

"No…" Sam gasped and shook his head. "He can't do that to me! He was supposed to survive this, not die! DEAN!" He rushed out of the door. "Sam!" Gabriel chased after him.

They both froze when they reached outside and looked up. The sky was shimmering white and pulses of gold and blood-red flashed across the sky.

"What is happening  _now_?!" Gabriel's wings pulsed as well and he mourned. "That means that as predicted, they had lost control. If not stopped now, they could destroy this whole globe."

"And Dean still did that while knowing that?!" Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No, I'm the only one who knows the cost of this fusion. I had found out about it when a similar incident happened when two archangels did it to start a new kind of life on this planet without asking god's permission, but instead ruined the whole place. This is what you called the destruction of the dinosaurs."

"What?!" Sam fell on his knees. "What are we gonna do? Dean is gonna die! I can't let that happened!"

"What about the world?" The archangel asked in grim amusement.

"Who cares?! All I care is if my brother with me or not."

"I'm sorry, I don't know…" They looked up to the sky, mourning.

* * *

Back at the house, Castiel was lying on the couch, his wounds healing when the sky turned white.

 _'Dean…'_  His body rose to a sitting-position and swayed a bit as his eyes stayed closed. He straightened up and raised his hand as if reaching to a door, his eyes opening to reveal liquid silver seas instead of blue. " _Dean…_ "

Two big silver wings erupted from his back and at the next minute, he was flying by Dean's place, which became a big crater, with Dean standing in the middle of it.

"Dean… DEAN!" Castiel's eyes turned back to their blue and he flew toward him, only to be pushed back when the ground cracked and a very narrow mountain erupted from the ground under Dean, bringing him upwards to the skies fast.

"Castiel! I need your help!" Castiel cried out and the angel's voice echoed,  _'Alright. Please save them, Cas.'_

"With pleasure," The wings grew bigger and he shot up like a missile, the wind slapping at his face.  _I'm coming for you, Dean._

* * *

When the mountain stopped going up, Castiel finally managed to reach its top and stopped on his tracks.

Dean's body was trapped in a big gold and white orb that kept pulsing like a heart. Castiel inched to it hesitantly, afraid to break something and hurt Dean. He stood before the orb and touched it gingerly.

An inhuman shrill echoed all over the world and the top of the orb cracked in two places. Two white wings sprouted beautifully from the orb and started stretching out, growing bigger and bigger until it covered the whole horizon. Castiel looked up and saw that it went basically as far as possible. Then he saw the ends of the wings coming back and stopping behind Dean. Then it clicked to him, they covered the whole earth!

The wings covered everything in darkness but then emitted light and long blood-red stripes streaked the white and big droplets of red liquid started to drop to the ground.

* * *

Sam and Gabriel looked as big drops of blood fell to the ground and then had to get away because the places where the liquid had touched either exploded, had lava gushing from cracks or new craters were created. Gabriel grabbed Sam and flapped his wings fast to get them out of that place.

"What's going on?!" Sam shouted over the explosions and the noise.

"I don't know!" Gabriel shouted back. "Do you think I know everything?"

"YES!"

* * *

"DEAN!" Castiel cried, his palms flat against the orb and his eyes barely making out Dean's body in a fetal position with the wings coming out from his back. He pounded his fists on the strange material, "DEAN! WAKE UP!"

_'Cas!'_

"Castiel?"

_'Use the angel blade to pierce that!'_

Castiel nodded and drew out the silver blade and raised it, holding it with two of his hands.

"Dean!" He brought it down on the orb with all the power he could muster. It pierced right through, but the second he took it out, it vanished. Castiel frowned and pierced it again, only this time he brought his hand through the hole, managing to expand the hole. He then squeezed his body through the hole, which yanked him inside. He yelped and crushed to the ground of the orb. A cry made him look up to see Dean floating before him, his head hiding in his arms and knees.

"Dean…?" He approached him carefully, afraid to do another fatal mistake. "Dean…" He smiled and was about to inch closer when Dean's head snapped up, his eyes wide open and liquid gold with blood tears trailing down his cheeks.

" ** _Don't get closer… I'm a monster…_** " Dean said, his face pale.

"No, you're not, Dean," Castiel sighed in relief and inched closer to him. Dean raised his hand and the white walls sprouted a stripe of light that pinned Castiel to the ground.

"DEAN!"

" ** _A monster… I should die… I'm worthless…_** " The wings pulsed in red.

"No, Dean! You're not worthless! Please!" Castiel cried from his place, slashing the stripe and running to him, avoiding the other stripes that tried to grab him and slashing at them.

" ** _I failed them… at least I won't fail them anymore…_** " The wings pulsed in red again. Suddenly it clicked, the orb's power was feeding from Dean's negative feelings, and he rushed faster to Dean and embraced him, noting that the stripes stopped attacking him. "Dean! You didn't fail anyone, you're the best thing this world could've asked for; you're kind, beautiful, funny, nice, amazing, worthy, honorable, and I love you. Please… come back to me!"

" ** _Castiel… I'm sorry…_** " Dean didn't hear him and his heart broke.

"Dean!" He cried and buried his face in his neck. "PLEASE! Come back,  **DEAN**!"

* * *

Dean was curled into a ball on the floor of his bedroom, Daniel sprawled on the floor by him, baby Michael in his arms, quiet.

Tears fell from his eyes in rivers. It was his entire fault, if he hadn't agreed for that, they wouldn't have to die because of him.

He saw from the corner of his eye a faint picture of Castiel walking toward him and he cried, "Don't get closer! I'm a monster!"

Castiel looked perplexed and stepped back. Dean silently cried to his arms, "I'm a monster, I should die… I'm so worthless…"

' _No, you're not…_ ' Castiel's voice soothed him. But something else, dark, whispered in his ears, ' ** _You failed them, Dean, you should die…_** '

"I failed them," He agreed. "I should die, at least I won't fail them anymore…" He cried out when two invisible arms engulfed him in a hug.

"Castiel… I'm so sorry," He muttered when he saw Castiel's face shimmer and then vanish.

"I should destroy myself," He said and took Daniel's blade and was about to stab himself when Castiel voice returned full-volume, " **DEAN!** " shattering the place he was in.

* * *

Castiel looked back up when Dean's head shifted and he was met with big beautiful green eyes.

"Dean…?" He cautiously asked, cupping the teen's face.

"Castiel?" Said teen asked.

A big smile broke Castiel's face and he jumped on his friend, making Dean yelp and stagger back.

"Dean! I'm so glad! You're yourself again!" He sobbed into his chest. "Don't you  ** _dare_**  do that to me again."

"Cas…" Dean wanted to say something else when his enormous wings pulsed and he gasped, clutching Castiel's shirt. "My wings… they hurt…"

"They're bleeding, Dean," Castiel calmly said, remembering that the world is getting destroyed around them. "You should put them back inside, no?" He tried to act nonchalantly as to not make Dean regress to the state he was merely moments ago.

"Y-you're right…" Dean closed his eyes and the wings shifted and became narrow until they disintegrated to particles, falling down like snow to the earth. When the wings disappeared, Dean looked down, "I-I'm so sorry, Cas…"

"It's okay, Dean, I'm just glad I got you back," Castiel smiled and kissed him chastely.

Dean sighed in bliss when they drew away, but then the orb pulsed and Dean blanched.

"Dean? What's wrong?" oh no…

"Cas…" Dean started to curl into himself, his body shaking. "It hurts, I feel like I'm gonna-" He threw his head back, screaming a blood-coiling shriek and the orb and the mountain exploded, sending rock and light everywhere.

"DEAN!" Castiel grabbed his friend's body and thankfully his wings were still intact, so he flew out of the rocks' range and landed few miles from the place, but still in the middle of nowhere and still in ruins, everywhere he looked there were smokes and splotches of lava. He laid Dean down on the ashen ground, and then looked up to the shining sun and blue skies.

Waiting a little longer in the still silence, a big smile broke on his face and he exclaimed, "Dean, it's finally over. Everything is going to be just fine."

It was finally over.


	15. Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for the short chapter.  
> this is the chapter that shows the consequences of their actions.

Castiel rested for a few second before trying to wake his friend up. "Dean?" He tried to shake him, but the teen was unconscious, blood flowing from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. "Dean!" He cried and tried to use Castiel's healing abilities to heal his friend, but the wings vanished and he felt emptiness swell inside of him. "Castiel?" He asked, feeling dread wash him.

" _Hello, young Castiel._ " He turned to see a slightly transparent older version of himself standing by them.

"What happened? Why are you out of my body?"

" _I must go… I can't live without Daniel… I always continued on knowing that Daniel and Michael were somewhere out there. But now that they're dead… I can't…_ "

"But I have to heal Dean!" The teen pleaded. "Please, just help me heal Dean!"

" _I'm sorry, but I can't. My grace is already gone. Farewell, young one,_ " The angel vanished, leaving him alone on the ashen ground with the unconscious teen in his arms.

"Go to hell! All of you!" Castiel screamed with grief to the sky, tears dropping from his eyes. A flutter of wings made him look aside and he saw Gabriel with Sam land by him on the ground. Gabriel looked grave, "They had died, didn't they?"

Castiel's tear streaked face nodded, "Yes…"

"Dean? Is Dean alright?" Sam cupped his brother's face, dirtying it with ash and smearing the blood. "Wake up, brother!"

"You shouldn't do that, Moose," Gabriel pried Sam's hands from the teen's face. "His body has been through a lot, and it's only a miracle he hadn't perished with my brothers."

"We should get him to a hospital then," The pre-teen protested. "We can't just leave him like that."

"It would be wise," Castiel said through gritted teeth, hating that he couldn't protect his friend at all,  _again._

Gabriel looked at them and sighed, grabbing the trio's hands.

* * *

The closest hospital still intact was surprisingly the Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence. When they landed by, they saw the ambulances come fast in flocks, unloading flocks of injured men. But they still came in and pled with one of the nurses to check on Dean. The nurse said that they don't have enough beds and all the doctors are busy, and Children aren't supposed to be here anyway. Castiel growled, but before he could threaten her, Gabriel snapped his fingers and she seemed to fall into a hypnotic statebefore shaking her head and helping them find one of the doctors.

The doctor took one look at Dean and rushed him into the ICU, leaving the others to worry about waiting alone.

"What is going to happen?" Castiel asked when they had finally managed to find a place to sit down between all the beds and the injured, a lone stretcher pass by with a face covered man. They grimaced and Gabriel sighed, "I don't know…"

"Why can't you heal Dean?" Sam accused and got a glare back from the nerve-wrecked archangel.

"I can't disturb the balance inside his body. It's so unstable, one sliver of grace could set it out of control again."

"You mean try to destroy the world again?"

"No, I meant that his angel blood will act up and probably shut down all of his systems. Humans are not costumed to deal with so much grace packed in one place. That's why Dean-o was special, he managed to contain two angels, and archangels by that. But even his body has limits, so the fusion should have killed him, but I think that Daniel and Michael did something to protect him."

"Oh god," Castiel mumbled and buried his face in his hands. "Why did they have to perish? After all they had gone through they couldn't even have that?" He suddenly felt terrible for shouting at Castiel after he told him that he can't heal Dean. "What would happen to them now? I mean, angels are from heaven, so what happen when they die?"

"I think they will reincarnate as humans, and hopefully will find each other again," Gabriel sighed. The three of them mourned for the fallen angels when the doctor returned to them, his face grim. They exchanged horrified gazes and started bombarding the doctor with questions until he raised his hand to silence them. When they had quieted down, he nodded, "I think you should sit down for this."

They looked scared when they had sat down on the only bench free in the place, the people passing them and the shouts are like a dream going on around them.

The doctor cleared his throat, "What you should know is that he'll live. But-" he stopped their cheering, "That was after we managed to stable him. His condition is very serious, but I don't know if I should tell you kids about it. Do you have parents or guardians?"

"Well, Castiel has a father and we two have Bobby Singer as a family friend," Sam piped up. The doctor looked at him with pity. "Do you have their addresses?" Sam nodded and soon they were waiting for the adults to arrive. When Chuck and the Singers arrived, Castiel threw himself unto his father and hugged him tightly, crying into his shirt. Sam hugged Bobby and Karen while he choked on his tears, and Gabriel just watched them with a sad look on his face. The doctor approached them and shook the adults' hands, "Hello, my name is Doctor Collin-"

"How 'bout we cut the formalities and get to the chase, ya idjit? And don't you dare leave the children outta it," Bobby interrupted, sounding agitated.

Dr. Collin sighed. "Very well. Dean had suffered an internal organs collapse and internal bleeding. Moreover, there're some curious bruising across his back and most of his bones are broken, did you find him under a fallen roof or something?" They nodded. "I see… the last thing you should know is that one of his lungs gave up, but we managed to relieve it. His heart had given up several times, but we managed to bring him back, but now Dean is in a coma, and we don't know when -if he would wake up. I'm sorry…" He finished with a solemn tone, grieving for the boy he treats. Sam and Castiel broke down and cried while the adults looked grief-stricken. Gabriel was the only who seemed calm, if not a bit glad, and was hugging the youngsters.

"You guys," Everyone turned to see a limping Jess rush to them, her arm in a cast and a big slash on her face was still bleeding under the bandage.

"Jess!" Sam rushed to her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad that you're fine!"

"Except for a broken arm and an injured face and leg," Jess joked. "I do hope that you don't care about ruined goodies."

"Never, you're still perfect," Sam muttered, blushing. She smiled solemnly, "Where is Dean?"

Sam flinched and his eyes watered up, "H-he… is in a coma and h-he's h-hurt really b-bad," He cried into her bloodied shirt.

"Shh… it's okay, Sammy, everything will be just fine," She hugged him and hummed to him a familiar tune. "How do you know that song?" He muttered in awe. She laughed bitterly. "Dean thought it would be wise for me to learn that, so he gave me a crash course of the Beatles." Sam grimaced. "Just what my jerk of a brother would do."

"But you managed to stop Lucifer from running this whole place up completely," She said and noticed that the three of them winched. She got suspicious, "What had happened?"

"We were losing and the only way was for Dean to fuse with Michael and Daniel, but they'd lost control and all the white sky and blood rain were his doing." Jess gasped, her eyes wide with fear. "Oh my god! That's horrible!"

"Yeah… the only good thing that came out of that was that they killed Lucifer, along with probably millions of people," Gabriel shrugged.

"Actually, that's what shocking. Only a handful of people got actually killed. Mostly are just seriously injured. It happened internationally. Maybe we should just see the news..."

They nodded and she took out her phone and opened the radio.

"- _After what seemed to be a whole globe shifting, the experts deduced that the light of the sky was probably the next level of the dissipation of the ozone layer and the red rain was just the reflection of the light. Moreover, the sudden tsunamis, earthquakes, meteors crushing into the earth, typhoons and lava all over the world were some indicators of the globe warming and the shift of the planet's route closer to the sun. Now that the sky are back, they concluded that the globe must have been hit enough hard by the meteors to shift back to its course. The number of deaths is surprisingly small – thousand and twelve people had died, million are critically injured, hundred million people in serious condition, two billions sustained moderate wounds and three billions suffered light injuries._ "

"It's like the after-state of a fucking apocalypse!" One of the patients shouted from his bed at the hallway.

"Oh, be quiet, Dick," Another patient shouted back. "People are trying to sleep here and you ain't helping a shit here with your friggn' stupid comments."

"Wanna pick up a fight, fag?" Dick pointed his plastic knife at the other guy. "I don't care 'bout you fags, so shut the fuck up."

"Would you two be quiet? They're children here!" A third party yelled from his bed, where both his arms were in casts. The three guys started screaming at each other, and soon the whole hallway was in an uproar. The small misfit group of people stared as several of them stood up and started fighting.

"Let's get outta here," Bobby grumbled and no one argued when he led them to his truck and then to a nearby house. "Why has everything come down to this?" Sam sighed when they plopped on the broken stairs. Castiel and Jess sighed as well, but Gabriel bristled, "Sam, it would have been worse if Lucifer would have been still alive, so we need to cope with what happened and hope that your brother will make it out okay. Two drunkies shouting like morons should not change your mind. Didn't you tell me this, 'I don't care about the world, only if it has my brother with me'?"

"I did say that, by now that Dean and Jess are safe, we need to think about the others now, no?" Sam almost shouted.

"You're not making sense," Gabriel was close to shouting as well.

"ENOUGH!" Castiel shouted and they quieted down. Tears fell down from the teen's eyes, "Just… enough, don't fight. Why do you think Dean has fought for us? Only to fight? No! He protected us! I get why you're wrecked and nervous, but that's no excuse to fight. We need to stay strong for Dean now, he needs us."

"Cas is right," Jess smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure Dean wouldn't like it if he woke up and see one of you dead. He'll probably chew us a new one if we let you do it," She joked, but her eyes were hard and challenging. Gabriel and Sam looked at each other and grimaced reluctantly, shaking hands. "You're right, we need to stay united and strong for my brother," Sam smiled and hugged her. "What would we do without you?" Jess sighed in mock exasperation and rolled her eyes, "Hmm… crash and burn," but she smiled with affection at him.

Gabriel turned to Bobby. "When do you think they'll let us see Dean-o?"

"Pr'bably now, why?" The old mechanic raised his thick brow.

"Because of that," Gabriel grabbed the trio's shirts and whisked them away right in front of the shocked adults.

Karen looked at Chuck. "Does he always do that?"

The prophet sighed, "You have no idea…"

* * *

Gabriel sent them just outside of Dean's room. They stepped in, even though he was sharing it with two other patients, so there wasn't enough room for them to move around in. They huddled around Dean's bed, taking everything in. Dean was pale as a sheet, an IV injected to his inner elbow and a breathing tube inserted into his mouth. Castiel was immediately reminded of the day they had escaped from Zachariah and Alistair. He plopped on his friend's bed and stoked Dean's face, his eyes wet.

"Hello, Dean," He murmured and kissed his forehead. "Please get better soon, I really want to see your eyes again, okay?" He bitterly smiled. He turned around when Jess placed a hand on his shoulder and he sighed, then got startled when Sam and Jess hugged him tightly. The archangel smiled and floated to ruffle his hair, "Hey, don't worry, Cassie, it'll be fine."

Castiel frowned, "My name's Castiel, Gabriel."

"Well, I always liked nicknames," Gabriel shrugged and the kids chuckled at the scoffing Castiel.

"You kids seem awfully happy, seeing you're in a hospital room," The woman on the bed next to them said with a brief smile on her face.

"Oh, we're so sorry for interrupting your sleep," Castiel bowed to her and she chuckled.

"Nah, it's okay, I needed that anyway." Her smile fell, "I just miss my children."

"Your children?" Castiel asked with a heavy heart.

"They perished in the earthquake in my neighborhood," Her eyes watered. "You kids remind me so much of them. Is it your friend that is lying on the bed? The poor kid…"

The group fell into silence, ashamed because they know what has caused the world ending's feeling and that earthquake. The woman mistook their silence for grief and she sighed. "I'm sorry for telling you this. You kids shouldn't have been burdened with the truth on your shoulders."

"It's okay," Sam muttered, holding Dean's hand. "I'm Sam and this is my brother, Dean and Cas is his boyfriend. Gabriel here is just a friend of mine that happened to be here, and Jess is my girlfriend."

The woman smiled. "Well, it's very nice to meet you all, dears. My name is Maria."

"What happened to you?" Sam asked quietly, flinching when Jess elbowed him.

"Sam, you don't ask those questions," She berated him.

Maria laughed. "No, it's fine, sweetie. I'm here because the house fell on us and I was stuck in the basement for several hours with no air."

"That's terrible!"

"I survived, so it wasn't that bad," She reassured him. "And I met you kids, so it must be even better."

"Thank you," They blushed.

"Your welcome," She smiled and then a knock on the door was heard and Dr. Collin came in, smiling softly.

"Maria, I see you met Dean Winchester's friends," He took her hand and sat her up. She smiled, "Yeah, I did, darling."

"Darling?!"

"Oh," Maria blushed and giggled. "I guess I forget to tell you – Josh here is my husband."

"Very nice to meet you," Dr. Collin did a gesture of taking off an invisible hat in front of them. They nodded, embarrassed and the doctor turned to his wife, "I think you're clear to leave this place. Do you want to return home?"

Maria sighed. "I… can't go home right now. Maybe I can stay and help you?"

The doctor considered that for a while, but then he nodded, "Of course, I'll send you to the child-section, okay?" His wife teared up and hugged him tightly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you…"

"I'm happy I could be of any help, sweetheart," He mumbled. Maria smiled at him and went to the door. But then she turned around and swept the kids into a big hug. "Please protect your friend, okay?"

"Won't do otherwise," They echoed and she nodded in agreement and swiftly left the room. Dr. Collin smiled at them and tended to the last patient in the room – a broad guy in his forties which was sleeping with casts on his legs and bandages around his head and torso.

"This is Antonio Zargaff," He explained to the curious children. "He was too near to a lava*."

They gasped. "But don't worry, those were only second degree burns. He'll recover in no time."

"Thank god," They breathed in relief and he smiled.

"I'm going to transfer him to the burn-section. So you kids will be left alone here for a while until we'll bring more coma-patients, okay?"

The group nodded eagerly and he laughed and wheeled the bed out of the bed. "Just don't touch anything and it'll be alright."

* * *

"How long do you think Dean will be comatose?" Sam asked after a long stretch of silence after the doctor left.

"I don't know, Sam. Dean-o suffered through things that no human had to experience before, so I don't know what will happen. Worst case, he could die-" Gabriel was pushed to the ground by the two enraged boys.

"Don't say that!" "Dean will wake up!"

"Guys, will you stop fighting? Your pathetic quarreling will not wake Dean up any sooner. So calm down and be civil to each other," Jess pried the fighting boys from each other.

Castiel and Sam huffed and sat down on the chairs Jess brought, still fuming at the archangel who sat up and brushed off dirt, all bruises vanishing. Jess sighed and stood before the boys, her hands on her hips. "What were you guys thinking to yourselves?! Dean is in a coma and you're arguing like babies?! Gabriel just said what he thought, that's  _no excuse_  for doing what you did. Now apologize to him and  ** _calm. down!_** "

Sam and Castiel looked down. "We're sorry, Gabe." Gabriel sighed. "It's okay, I know you guys are just worries about Dean-o." He popped out a package of gum. "Would you like some? At least you would have something to do."

They nodded and the archangel passed them the package, popping a chocolate bar for himself and they sat down in a tense silence, munching on their treats. Jess sighed and sat down as well, taking out a book and burying her face into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *lava is so hot that probably standing a hundred meters from it would burn you and that how far that man was from it so he survived but got really burned


	16. Waiting

If they would be still living their normal lives, if the world hadn't looked like it had ended, they would have returned to school today. It was only a reminder to the children of what they had before everything had started. That night, when Karen had finally managed to bring them back to their house and treat them for dinner, they had been reminded of Dean's lasagna that he made that day, the last normal and happy day they had before everything ended.

Castiel sighed when he poked at the ribs. Sam wasn't even looking at the food, his head is in a faraway place. Jess was at her house with her parents and Gabriel went back to heaven to sort things up, and to pick a fight with Raphael, he said. Karen's heart broke when she saw the boys that once were so full with life, were now lifeless. Not even knowing what to do with themselves. Bobby always told her that the glue that kept John back of the day still alive, even though it was barely, was the fact that his eldest did everything in his power to bring him back from the grief. It was the same after he had died, and Dean had become Sam's protector and reason for life. Then later, it was the same with Castiel. It was no wonder, then, that the minute Dean wasn't there to keep them together, they slowly crumbled and fell into their own versions of a coma.

"Kids," She said, and the two of them jumped. "You have to eat. It won't help Dean get better if you two will starve yourselves. If I were him, I would get annoyed that my family doesn't keep itself together so that when he wakes up, he won't be met with fewer members than he had begun with." Brief smiles adorned the boys' faces, both imagining Dean's reaction of seeing them so skinny, and they reluctantly started eating from the food. Karen internally cheered and ruffled their hairs before heading to the living room, where Chuck was drinking. She frowned and plucked the whisky from his hands. Chuck looked up with glazed eyes and pouted. "Gimme back ma' dr'nk!"

"No," She dumped the bottle to the garbage, Chuck's gaze following it in sorrow. "I will not let you sink this low just because not everything is how it should be. You have a son who is hurting because his friend is at the hospital. You have a responsibility to your family. My husband knows that and he is helping out to save as many people as he can while working to scrape food for us. If you're going to keep feeling sorry for yourself, I suggest you get out of the house and find yourself a better place to sulk at." Chuck looked at her with wide eyes that quickly welled up and he looked down in shame. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Karen sighed, then smiled warmly and sat by him. "It's okay. You just need to get yourself back together and be there for Castiel, because those children had been through things that even adults shouldn't go through."

"You're right," Chuck stood up and staggered, and was helped by Karen. "I should do all I can do for my son. I'll go and ask Bobby if he need anything."

"Good, but first shower," She chuckled. "You're no good to anyone wasted." Chuck flushed and staggered to the bathroom, which soon sounds of vomiting was heard from.

* * *

Castiel and Sam sat by Dean's bed silently. Dean was still very pale and now sported dark circles under his eyes and his face was sunken a bit. But the tube was changed to an oxygen mask and the heart monitor was removed, moving to another needy patient. For some reason, even though they were still a lot of patients in the hospital – no one was in Dean's room. Dr. Collin said that was because Dean is the only coma patient they have and most of the others could be released from the hospital already.

Castiel looked outside the window. The skies were blue and the sun was glowing as normal, but the city below was still smoking and everything was in ruins. Castiel cringed when he remembered that it was from Dean's fusion with the two archangels. He couldn't even fathom what it would do to Dean when he would wake up and realize what had his decision done. He would probably break down and do something very stupid, like try to fix the world by himself or worse, kill himself. He sighed and looked over to Sam. The kid was nearing his thirteenth birthday and he looked worse every day that had passed – his skin was pale yellow, his eyes sunken and sad, his nose always stuck in a book about the supernatural, like it would pop out a miracle worker for Dean's condition. He knew that he didn't look better, but at least he still had faith that everything will be alright, the minute god will realize what had happened and will solve everything after what he did to them and his angels.

He brushed his friend's hair from his face, noting that soon he'll have the same style as Sam and chuckled to the thought of Dean getting all paranoid of turning into a girl. "Sam?" said kid looked up from his book.

"What?"

"I was wondering… would you perhaps want to go to the cafeteria to get some pie?"

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Castiel sighed. "Because I thought that we could try the pie technique to wake Dean up."

"You know it won't work."

"It's worth the try, no?" Sam grimaced, but nodded and stood up, throwing his book to the side and exiting the room. The teen looked after the exit of the pre-teen wearily and when he was gone, returned his attention to his friend. He scooted closer and pressed their foreheads together, taking the oxygen mask off. "Dean," He breathed. "Please come back. I really miss you and I want to see your beautiful eyes again," He pleaded, his eyes wet. He kissed the chapped lips gently and lovingly. "Please come back to me, Dean, I love you."

No answer came from the comatose teen and he sighed, wiping his eyes and returning the mask on Dean's mouth, sitting back on his chair. He laid his face on Dean's chest and let himself be lulled to sleep by the steady heartbeat of his friend.

* * *

Sam pushed himself through crowded halls, his hands in his pockets and his mood dark. He knew what Castiel was trying to do and he realized that while he was losing his brother, Castiel was losing someone he loves and that was probably worse. He sighed and rubbed his raw eyes, colliding with a big man. "I'm sorry," He quickly said, and looked up to see bored dark eyes. The man huffed and pushed him to the side, "Whatever, pipsqueak. Just go to your mama." He put his hands in his pockets and limped away.

Sam scowled and rushed to the cafeteria, catching sight of the hospital's pie and rushed to get to it. But the minute his hand touched it, another hand came and snatched it. "Hey! It was mine!" Sam turned to see another man, only bony and with dark hair and dark cold eyes. The man laughed darkly and placed the pie in a bag, "I'm taking that for a very important person. I need to make good impression on him and you won't stop me from that." The man pushed Sam away and disappeared to the hall Sam had just come from. Sam growled and stalked the man, wanting to give him a piece of his mind, but got more baffled when the man was coming to a slow stop in front of Dean's room.

"Um… excuse me," He said, approaching the man. "That room is my brother's room, I'm sure you got the wrong room." The man looked at him and smirked, "Don't worry, little boy, I wasn't mistaken." His eyes flashed in back and Sam's eyes widened and then narrowed as he rushed to stand between the man and the door. "You will not touch my brother!" He shouted. The man laughed and waved his hand, making him fly into the room and crush into the opposite wall, falling unconscious. Castiel woke up and was pinned to the same wall as well, his mind not catching up with what had just happened yet.

The man entered the room and laid the bag on the side desk, taking out the pie from the box and laying it by Dean's head, "Here something I thought you'd like, angel."

"Alistair…" Castiel breathed in shock. "B-but how?! Daniel killed you!"

Alistair cackled, reaching to brush Dean's hair, making Castiel snarl. "I'm no ordinary demon. Haven't you wondered how could I sustain Lucifer's grace in me?"

"Because Lucifer is a fallen?" Castiel struggled against the demon's power.

"Wrong. Because I'm a nephilim," Alistair said, sitting on the bed and crouching over Dean. "I'm half-fallen, half-demon, so I can sustain grace. That way I can't be killed by a mere demon exorcising." He took off the oxygen mask and rubbed his thumb over the teen's lips, "And finally, I can have him."

"Daniel is dead, so you don't need Dean anymore, so get away from him!" Castiel bristled.

Alistair clicked his tongue, "So? Daniel and Dean are almost the same. And this soul being at the same times of Daniel was like a treat to me. Dean is so much like my precious angel – his soul is the purest I have ever seen, it's so delicious." He smirked and pressed his lips over Dean's.

Castiel screamed "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" then he glowed and the hold on him broke. He staggered but then he charged at the demon and punched him on the face. Alistair fell from the bed with a surprised huff. Castiel stood in front of the demon, panting, his fist bleeding, "You will  ** _not_** touch him!"

"Even human and still manage to bother me," Alistair growled and stood swiftly.

"You slut, why do you think you can get the pleasure that this human can give?" Alistair advanced toward Castiel, whose adrenaline vanished and left him with fear washing him and he took a step back for each one the demon took forward until his back bumped against the wall. He glanced at it with fear in his eyes and snapped back to the demon. "Oh? So now you have the logic to fear me? Now that you no longer have an angel inside you, you're just a mere human." Alistair smirked and plunged his hand through the teen's stomach.

Castiel tried to breathe and choked rasps came from his mouth as blood filled his windpipe. Alistair looked with sick pleasure at him and yanked out his hand, the teen collapsing to the floor, a pool of blood spreading under him and his eyes wide and glazed.

"Now…" Alistair wiped his hand over his shirt and turned to the still comatose teen. A big dark smile broke over his face and he took his clean hand and slowly pushed it into Dean's body, light peering from the hole he created. "Now I'll just take your soul with me to hell, I've learned from my mistakes," He purred and started to pull.

Dean's body arched upwards as a pulsing and glowing light came out in Alistair's hand and the sick smirk on the demon's face grew bigger. "At last," He purred and cradled the soul in his hands. "Now we can be together forever."

"Not so fast," Gabriel's voice echoed behind him and a silver blade was thrust into his back. Alistair froze and looked back at the grinning archangel, who was sucking on a lollipop. "Damn you, Gabriel."

"Already am, sugar boy," Gabriel said nonchalantly and buried his blade deeper. Alistair growled and exploded in a flash of light. "Finally gone for good," Gabriel sighed and picked up the bright orb. He saw the orb twinkle and smiled, "Even when in a soul form you wish that everyone would be happy, huh? I'm so sorry, Dean-o. No one should have gone through what you have been gone through."

He hovered over the soulless body and pushed the orb into it slowly, muttering spells in Enochian. Dean's body convulsed and then fell down, deathly still. Gabriel touched his forehead and his chest started going up and down again as he started breathing again and his face picked up some color. Next, the archangel crouched next to the dead Castiel and touched his forehead as well. Castiel opened his eyes and sat up quickly, eyes wide with fear. "DEAN!" He stood up and almost fell if it wasn't for Gabriel who zapped him to one of the beds.

"Will you relax?" He asked in exasperation and held his body from moving when Castiel was struggling. "Dean-o is safe and I killed Alistair for sure this time." Castiel panted when the words have finally sunk in and he looked at the archangel. "For good?"

"For good," He nodded. Castiel smiled and fell back to the bed with huff, his right arm covering his face as choked sobs spilled from his mouth.

Gabriel smiled and zapped to where Sam was sprawled and picked him up gently, placing him on the last bed. He then brushed the dark locks away and touched his forehead. Sam opened his eyes and sat up quickly. "Gabe! Quick, Dean is-"

"Why is everyone so uptight?!" He cried and stuck a lollipop into his charge's mouth. "Just shut up! Dean-o is fine because I had to be the damn hero!" Sam's eyes welled up and he hugged the angel tightly, "Thank you so much, Gabe!"

"Y-you're welcome," The startled angel patted the pre-teen's back, smiling faintly.

"Sam, are you okay?" Castiel asked from his bed and Sam nodded. "I'm fine, Cas."

"What about Dean then?"

"I had to resort to emergency time, I managed to use some of my grace to heal him a bit, that was all I could do without putting the body into a shutdown from having the soul removed and then returned."

"Soul removed?!" The humans cried out and the angel groaned, knowing he should've just shut up. "Yeah, Alistair wanted to drag his soul to hell so I stopped him and returned the soul to his rightful place."

"Thank you so much, Gabe," Sam choked and the both of them tackled the small boy to the ground. "HEY! No damaging my face! I'm still an angel!" Gabriel squeaked from the tangled mess of limbs and bodies. The boys ignored him and continued to thank him and hug him tightly while Dean continued to sleep in his bed, his body seeming to look better.

* * *

A week after, the trio started to look better. The boys had finally had good night-rests and started eating better, under Mrs. Singer's strict supervision. The tension surrounding the place had dissipated and Jess noted happily that the visits to the hospital became more fun. Even the city had started to look like it was before. All the adults pulled together to rebuilt the place with the children running around to help the adults. School had started again – more like every classroom would have one teacher teach them every subject they needed. Sam and Castiel started walking to school together from Bobby's house every morning and became closer than they used to be before everything had started.

* * *

That day, they had returned from school and rushed to the hospital immediately after they had dumped their things in Bobby's house. Doctor Collin greeted them when they entered Dean's room with a big smile and big news. "My friends. I'm happy to say that Dean is doing better and I wouldn't be surprised if he would wake up soon."

Sam and Castiel looked at each other with shock and astonishment, and then jumped on each other with a big hug as they celebrated the joyous news. "But," The doctor interrupted them with an amused smile. "You have to realize that because he was comatose for so long, he could be very weak for a long time as well, or even have some damage to his brain. So you need to take care of him carefully when he wakes up, okay?"

"Yes, sir!" They nodded and cheered again.

"Good, I'll be going on my way now," The doctor nodded back and left the room. Castiel and Sam sat by Dean's bed, happy smiles smeared on their faces. "He's going to be alright, Sam," The teen grabbed Dean's hand and covered his cheek with it, smiling affectionately at his friend. Sam nodded, the news still not sinking in.

"You're going to be alright, Dean," Castiel muttered to his friend. "We're going to be just fine, my love."

"Castiel?" Sam asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" Castiel tilted his head.

"What do you think of my brother?"

Castiel blinked. "What do you mean?"

"What… what do you think of him? Why made you like him, you know?"

Castiel pondered a bit, surprised with the random question. "Well… I'm not really knowledgeable about the social life seeing I was home-schooled for nine years. Dean is… the first one I talked to, my first friend. He is an amazing person, even after everything that had happened to him," He started to blush. "He's very kind and funny and beautiful and… I don't know, I just do," Castiel was flushing very hard right now.

Sam laughed. "You look like a child being caught with his hand in the cookie jar!"

Castiel pouted at him. "You were mocking me."

"What? No! I was just curious," Sam defended himself. "You just make my brother very happy, and that's something I couldn't do for a long time. So I just wanted to… thank you for being there for my brother," He finished, blushing as well. Castiel's eyes softened and he reached over Dean's bed to ruffle the pre-teen's hair. "Well, I know that you helped Dean as well. He always told me how much he's proud of you and how happy he is for having you in his life," Castiel said with a soft smirk.

Sam smiled widely when a twitch caught his eye. He turned swiftly to Dean with wide eyes. Castiel tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"I think I just saw Dean mo-" another twitch, this time caught by Castiel's eye as well. The duo looked at each other with shock and hope and returned to Dean when a small whine was heard. Castiel grabbed his hand, eyes watering, "Dean?"

Dean's eyes fluttered open and he was met with big beautiful green eyes which made his heart melt, "Dean!"


	17. Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry! i have no excuse for being so late except for being busy and lazy so i'm sorry!
> 
> IMPORTANT!:  
> from now on, the chapters are going to be UNBETA'D because my beta don't have time for that, so i'm very sorry if you spot mistakes and very poor grammar because Berny is my savior. so now the updates would be anytime i want them to be so sorry 'bout that.  
> enjoy.
> 
> disclaimer: i do not own spn, sadly. it's kripke. if it was mine, dean and cas would have at least acknowledged their real "profound bond" to each other and to us *grinning*.
> 
> please read and review, i really need to know how good is this story.

"Dean!" Castiel tackled the teen. He expected Dean to hug him back or to even scold him for worrying, but to his surprise Dean yelped. And then to their growing confusion, he curled into himself and started wailing like a baby would when faced with a surprise he doesn't like.

"Dean?" Sam asked and touched his shoulder, exchanging scared glances with Castiel. What is his brother doing? What's wrong with him?

Dean looked up with big teary and innocent eyes and sniffled. Sam reached hesitantly his hand and cupped his hand. "Dean? Brother?"

Dean looked down at the hand and a big smile broke on his face as he grabbed the hand and started playing with it.

Castiel was scared, so he ran to the hall and shouted for a doctor. Luckily, Dr. Collin was nearby and rushed to him. "What's wrong, Castiel?"

"Something is wrong with Dean," Castiel said and the doctor followed him into the room and both stopped at the scene before them.

Sam was struggling to keep an excited Dean off of him. When he noticed them he shouted, "He keeps trying to hug me! Get him off of me!"

* * *

Dr. Collin rubbed his hands nervously after he left the room and stood before the worried sick duo.

"Well…?"

"Umm... I think he became a baby."

"Huh?"

"Mentally, I meant," The doctor nervously added. "I'd never seen something like that. It's like his brain had regressed to the point when he was a baby. I mean, it's only memory-wise, but Dean thinks he's a baby. The only thing I can think that can cause it is a brain damage, but I don't see any. Maybe it's trauma, but the only thing I can think of is of the house falling on him. Did you kids tell me everything about what happened?"

They looked at each other and Castiel turned to the doctor, "Do you know what age he thinks he is?"

"I think around three-four. He knows to speak and seem to understand what I'm asking him of. But he for some reason  _loves_  to hug… and got scared when I took a needle out."

"Well… we lost our mother in a fire when he was four," Sam said quietly. "Could it be that he returned to the time before anything bad had happened to him?"

"Could be," Dr. Collin said. "And maybe the house falling on him triggered the memory and caused his brain to regress…"

"What can we do to bring Dean back to normal?" Castiel asked, praying that there's a cure for Dean's condition. He won't be able to live with himself if Dean stays this way forever.

"Well, I'd suggest surrounding him with familiar things and that'll trigger his memories. But be careful, not all memories are good – some of them would be things he had forgotten but will come back and to a child they could be life-threatening, like nightmares or the fire you had mentioned, so be really careful and keep an eye on him."

They nodded, putting that warning in the front of their attention. "Do you want me to contact your family?"

"No, it's okay. We'll tell them when we get home. When can Dean go back home?"

"I'll give it another few more days and then I think I'll release him," The doctor said and went to check on other patients.

Sam and Castiel entered the room and saw Dean jumping in his bed with childish glee and couldn't help the smiles on their faces.

"Hello, Dean," Castiel said when they had sat down next to the teen. He reached out with a hand to Dean, who looked at it with awe and then looked at him before jumping on him and hugging him tightly. Castiel huffed with the weight, but smiled and patted his hair. "Yes, Dean, you need something?"

"Hello," Dean became shy and retracted himself from him, curling into a ball and hiding his face in his knees. Castiel couldn't help but chuckle at the adorable scene, "Dean, no need to be shy of me. We're friends."

"Fwiends?" Dean asked timidly, looking up. Castiel nodded and Dean glowed. "Fwiends!" He tackled him again. Sam was laughing and clapping his hands as Castiel was trying to get Dean off of him.

"What in the holy lollipop's name are you three doing?" Gabriel appeared by Sam, making him jump.

"Gabe! Can you please not give me a heart-attack?! You have no idea how much we need you anyway," Sam cried. "Dean became a baby!"

"What's new?" Sam sent him a bitch-face.

"His memories since he was four disappeared and now he's acting like a baby," Sam breathed. "Can you help us?"

Gabriel took one look of the still struggling teens and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I feared that using my grace on him would do something, but at least it didn't kill him or anything."

"You mean that during his healing, it accidentally…?"

"Yep, it buried his memories deep in his mind. But no worries, they'll come back around," Gabriel said.

"Yeah, and they'll probably traumatize him forever," Sam grumbled.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Gabriel huffed.

Castiel looked at them and a smirk appeared on his face. He turned to Dean, who was still hugging him and whispered something into his ear. Dean's ears perked up and he looked up with gleeful at the teen, "Weally?"

"Really," Castiel reassured him. "Now hop on."

Dean nodded and stalked to where the archangel and the pre-teen were arguing. He waited a moment before crying 'Angel!' and tackling Gabriel from behind.

The archangel screamed and fell onto the ground with Dean smiling broadly and repeating 'Angel' like a mantra.

"Get. Off. Me!" Gabriel didn't want to use his grace against the teen in fear it would do something worse, so he had to resort to struggling to get the annoying teen off of him. "Damn, your angel blood makes you insufferable."

"Angel! Mommy say angels wa'ch ma'," Dean nuzzled the terrified archangel. "Wanna see wings!"

"No!"

"Wings!"

"I said NO!" Gabriel used his grace to push the air under Dean to throw him away. Dean flew to the other side of the room and crushed into the wall. He fell to the floor, his eyes wide with shock and fear and then they watered up.

"Oh, no, no, no," The archangel said and Dean burst into tears, curling into himself.

"OWIE! IT HURTS!" He wailed. The human duo sent the archangel such a death glare he wished he  _was_  dead, and they ran to the wailing teen.

"Shh… shh… it's okay, Dean, its okay. That bad angel won't hurt you anymore," Castiel murmured as he embraced Dean and kissed his head. Dean looked up to him, "Cas kiss my boo-boos away."

"Yes, I will," Castiel smiled and kissed his face and scalp. Dean sniffed and gave him his brilliant smile, making him blush and look away. Suddenly the reality of what happened fell upon him and tears gathered in his eyes.

_He can't kiss Dean for real, he can't even act toward him like his lover. He's a baby now…_ his tears now fell in droplets from his eyes to the floor as he hid his face.

Perceptive Dean, even in his child mentality, noticed his tears and started crying himself, hugging the teen tightly. "Don't cry, Cas, I cry too. Pwease no cry," Dean buried his face in Castiel's neck, "No leave you."

Castiel looked shocked, but then he smiled and wiped his tears, hugging his friend back, "Thank you, sweetie, you have no idea how I needed to hear that, Dean." Dean smiled and snuggled closer to his body, slowly drifting away and falling asleep. Castiel smiled at the adorable face he was making, his tears falling anew as he sobbed into Dean's hair.

Sam and Gabriel crouched by him, trying to sooth him. Castiel sniffled. "It's not fair, you know? I'd finally gotten him back, but I can't be  _with_  him. He's like a baby now. I can't kiss him like we did, I can't talk to him like we did, I can't even do what we did that night, that's not fair!" He broke down and cried silently into the slightly long dark blond hair, gripping tightly to his friend's body. "It's not fair..."

"I know, but he'll get better. He'll remember soon," Sam said and with the archangel's help, they picked up the two teens and placed them on the bed, the angel's blood helping a lot. Castiel shot a glare at them, "You don't understand, do you? What I saw there in the orb… it was feeding on Dean's negative feelings. Dean thinks he's worthless, he thinks that he failed everyone. He actually tried to destroy himself. If he remembers what had happened, he'll break. Hell, even if he had remembered what happened during  _this year_ , he'll break. I'm scared."

"Dean-o is a hell of a fighter, Cassie, he'll pull through that," Gabriel said. The air was thick with tension until an idea came over to Gabriel, "But to more important matters. Tomorrow is Sam's birthday, any ideas? I want lots of candies!"

The humans' eyes grew wide. They'd completely forgotten the pre-teen's birthday. Castiel sighed guiltily. "I'm so sorry for forgetting, Sam."

"It's okay, I didn't remember myself," Sam admitted, a bit pink. "Thank you, Gabe, for reminding us."

Said angel puffed his chest in pride, "What can I say? I remember the important things."

They fell into a discussion of what should they do for Sam's birthday, not knowing that Dean had woken up at some point, his eyes glazing and flashes of his mother with a big belly and then a baby in his arms.

* * *

_"Say hi to your baby brother," Mary said as he climbed to the bed, looking in wonder at the small crying bundle she held in her arms._

_"Brover?" He asked hesitantly, reaching out to brush the baby's puff of dark hair, making the baby stop crying and open his big light hazel eyes. The baby looked at him, melting his heart the minute he saw him smile with toothless gums. He whispered. "Hello, Sammy."_

_"So you want to name him Sam?" Mary asked with astonishment. He nodded, blushing slightly and busying himself with playing with Sam's fingers._

_Mary beamed and John chuckled as he hovered over them. "Well, I see that ace had already decided on a name long before Sammy came."_

_He nodded furiously and shyly reached out his arms, looking to his mother with big and pleading eyes._

_"You want to hold him?" He nodded and smiled widely._

_Mary giggled and shifted so he would have a space to sit and carefully maneuvered Sammy to his arms. He held the baby gingerly and looked down to his brother, who was making noises and tried to grasp his hair. He smiled and kissed his small head. "Hello, Sammy, 'm Dean and your big bwo."_

_Sammy's mouth had a bubble of spit and it popped, making the baby gurgle with laughter and clap his small hands. He smiled and felt that no matter what happens, he would protect this small bundle of limbs and smiles._

_"'ll protect you, Sammy," he muttered and held the bundle tighter. "H'ppy b'rfday."_

* * *

"Happy birthday, Sammy," He mumbled and snuggled more into Castiel's arms, feeling content.

* * *

The next day, Castiel and Gabriel with Jess and the Singers, started to decorate the Winchester's house for the pre-teen's thirteenth birthday party.

Dr. Collin agreed to let Dean home for that day, but he told them that the minute something is slightly wrong to bring him back. He couldn't help himself but smile fondly when the kids erupted in cheers and hugged him, thanking him for everything.

Dean was jumpy like he had swallowed a cup of caffeine, excited for the party. That morning, he jumped on Sam and told him happy birthday and told him that he grew up way to fast, that he was just a baby. Sam smiled and told him that he grew up fast too, because how could he be four years old and look like a teen? Dean bought that excuse and smiled brightly the rest of the morning, slightly stumbling, not used to his long limbs.

After lunch, the whole group trapped Sam and Dean in the elder's bedroom and told the birthday boy to keep an eye on Dean. Sam nodded, knowing the reason behind that request, and played with his brother with the small green soldiers toys, taking the box out from a forgotten corner of the room.

"Hey, Dean?" He asked after a while and his brother looked up with a face of concentration from the ground. "What do you remember?"

Dean tilted his head, "Remember?"

"Yeah… from me…"

"You small, in mom arms. She let me hold you, so tiny and you laughed," Dean recalled with a soft smile on his face. "Promise, I always protect you. Called you Sammy, so you're Sammy!"

"You're the one who gave me my name?" Sam asked with shock, awe and gratefulness evident in his voice. Dean nodded with a shy blush, casting his face down to hide it. "Just felt like Sammy."

"Thank you so much, Dean, you're the best bro I could ever ask for," Sam hugged his brother.

"Did what can do, nothing special."

"Of course it was special, Dean," Sam was confused, why would he think that? He thought that his self-loathing came after their mother died.

"'See, fank," Dean beamed at him and Sam's heart melted right there.

A knock on the door made them turn to see Castiel open the door, only to stumble back a moment later when Dean cried 'CAS' and jumped on the teen.

Sam laughed, happy that even amnesiac, Dean loved Castiel more than anything. Castiel smiled and hugged his friend with a relieved laugh and kissed his forehead with a melancholy smile, "How was your day, sweetie?"

"Beat Sammy at war!" The teen-turned-four exclaimed and Castiel laughed loudly.

"I see that, good for you," He pinched Dean's nose, laughing louder when Dean crinkled his nose with a pout.

"Hi, Cas," Sam smiled and the two bumped fists, becoming closer during the weeks after the battle. "When is my surprise?"

"It's supposed to start now, so I came to collect you," Castiel rolled his eyes while he took Dean's hand and walked them down the living room, where Chuck's writing spot was.

Another thing Castiel did after settling back to normal was to move into the Winchester's house with his father seeing their house was demolished during Dean's… outburst, with the agreement of Sam. Chuck's books were selling better after the attack and he suggested giving the brothers a better home so Dean won't have to work until they finished high-school, not that he can work in his state anyway.

"Where is the party?" Sam asked with a pout and a bitch-face.

"You'll see," Castiel said nonchalantly, evidently having a hard time concealing a smirk.

They walked outside to the garden and suddenly a big roar of 'SURPRISE' was heard and everyone were holding up cups as to give cheers to him and a small pile of gifts was piled on a opened folding table, which was full with food as well.

Jess came to Sam and hugged him tightly, kissing him fully on the lips to the sounds of whistling and hooting of the archangel and Chuck. Sam blushed while Jess giggled awkwardly, but took his hand and dragged him to the table. "Come on, open the gifts."

Sam nodded eagerly and took a big box and tore it apart to find the set of the 'Harry Potter' series of books. He smiled broadly and hugged Jess, who smiled back.

Next were the Singers' birthday cake and a book about the supernatural Bobby had thought was good enough for him and had caught him looking longingly at it several times. Sam squealed with happiness and almost tackled the old couple to the ground.

Chuck had given him the first edition of the new book of the 'supernatural' series and Castiel bought him a small box with small puppy plush toy with Gabriel making it slightly alive so he would jump at Sam every second, making the kid frustrated. Of course the angel didn't forget to push into his arms a big bag of lollipops.

The pile was gone, but before they could move to the cake, Dean cried out 'Wait' and rushed into the house.

The group exchanged glances, but was brought back when Dean ran back outside with the biggest smile he ever had since he woke up.

"Here," He gave his brother a blanket. Sam didn't know whether to be amused or not at the simplicity of the gift.

"What's that?" He decided to amuse him.

"Your blankie," Dean said and spread the blanket to reveal the letters S and W sewn into the material. "Mommy sewed it to you and told me to bring it to you on your birfday."

Tears filled Sam's eyes as he fingered the blanket. He drew his brother to a hug, "Thank you, brother. Thank you so much."

"Welcome, thought you need blankie, don't sleep well," Dean said and Sam blushed.

"Busted," Jess said and poked his side. "Want to tell us something?"  
"I just had a bad dream last night, that's all," He swore when the girl's glare turned predatory.

"Cake!" Dean cried and stood slightly before Sam in a protective move, making everyone snort or laugh. Jess laughed and cut a big slice of cake for Dean, "Here you go, sweetie."

Dean blushed and hid behind Castiel, "Th-thanks…" And bit to the cake.

Castiel smiled at the adorable sight, fighting inwardly not to kiss him and frowning at the thought. Dean frowned as well and dipped down to kiss Castiel's cheek. The teen looked at him with awe and Dean thrust the cake plate into his arms. "Eat, now! And smile! Sammy's birfday!"

The teen blinked and took the plate. Dean smiled and kissed the side of his mouth before hopping away. Castiel froze, his fingers going up to ghost over the tingling place Dean just kissed, was Dean remembering him? His heart leaped in his chest and he was grinning a face-splitting grin.

* * *

By the evening, all the adults went to the Singer house to drink and the children were sleeping at the Winchesters'.

They spread a big mattress on the living room's floor and the younger kids were sandwiched by the teens. Dean fell asleep the minute his head lied on the pillow, followed by Sam and Jess. Castiel, on the other hand, couldn't fall asleep. He watched Dean's face as his lashes fluttered slightly and his eyes moved behind his lids. His mouth curled slightly upwards and a hint of drool made himself noticed. Castiel chuckled and scooted so he could kiss his mouth. He felt bad for using his sleep to steal a kiss, but he longed for a proper kiss, for a 'love you' from Dean. His heart was tearing up everyday that passed without being able to love the boy before him properly. Tears fell from his eyes and stained the pillow underneath him. A hand came and wrapped himself around his and he looked up to see Dean's hand covering his and a sad smile adorned his face.

"I love you, Dean," He murmured into the darkness. "I love you so much, please remember me."

He wasn't surprised when Dean hadn't answered, continuing to sleep. He sighed and stole another kiss, longer this time, and went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so dean became amnesiac? will he remember? what will he rememeber all on the next chapter of sealed angels.
> 
> what do you think?
> 
> And that's it for today, everyone.
> 
> sorry if dean and castiel were OOC, but i really don't know how to write them.
> 
> please review, it's like drugs for me (not literary ;p).
> 
> love ya'll and see ya next chapter.


	18. Flames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this story has officially become a hassle for me. i no longer feel the want to continue this story especially since i stopped watching spn after season 9. i don't like spn as much as i used to. fortunately i finished this story way before i posted the first chapter so i am just going to dump the rest of the chapters and side stories without really going through them , so anything you see that is bad blame on my lack of enthusiasm. hopefully, one day like with my other on going fic, i am going to regain the love i had for spn and give this story a good editing. until then, enjoy.
> 
> disclaimer: i do not own spn, it's kripke.
> 
> please read and review, i really need to know how good is this story.

It happened when Chuck accidentally burned the stakes he was trying to cook. Three days after the party, Dean was finally released from the hospital and Chuck wanted to make something special to celebrate. So after he had returned from the public reading he did to the children, he had decided that he would try his hand in cooking now that Dean couldn't cook anything since he was mentally a child. He saw a package of uncooked stakes and took out a pan to cook them.

There was one problem, though – Chuck didn't know how to cook stakes, he never did, it was his weakness.

But he wanted to test his abilities today. What a terrible mistake.

"FATHER! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Castiel shouted when the house was filled with smoke and the trio hurried to the kitchen, with Dean entering last.

Chuck turned from the flaming counter, his face black with smoke and he tried to laugh, only coughing harder. "S-sorry, kids. I-I only t-tried t-to make st-takes."

"Father! You know you're horrible with stakes," Castiel cried out in exasperation, not noticing the blank look that Dean had. "How do you even manage to burn  _stakes_?"

" _Mom…_ " Dean mumbled, his eyes widening with fear as memories flashed in his mind.

_'Good night, ace.'_

_'Good night, Sammy.'_

_Screams waking him up._

_Smoke filling the hall._

_Mother pinned to the ceiling._

_Dad coming to him and giving him Sammy._

_'Take care of your brother!'_

_Running outside._

_'It's okay, Sammy, we're safe.'_

_Explosion._

_Dad's arms taking him away from the house._

_A man whispers in his ear._

_'You're not getting away from me, angel.'_

_Yellow eyes and a dark laughter._

_'Mom…'_

His knees buckled underneath him and he collapsed to the floor, not hearing the frantic cries of Castiel and Sam as they rushed to him.

"Mom…" He muttered before darkness washed him.

* * *

Dean opened his eyes to find himself looking into worried blue eyes and for once didn't jump or cried with glee. He just blinked at him with dead eyes and a lifeless expression. The blue-eyed teen looked horrified and cupped his face.

"What's wrong, Dean? Why do you look at me like this?"

Dean stayed silent. The memories of the fire were still fresh in his mind. The teen tried to pry an answer out of him. But when he kept his silence, he sighed and hugged him tightly before getting up and leaving the room.

.-.-.-.

Castiel rushed to where Chuck and Sam were seated with worried expressions. When they had spotted him, Sam jumped up from his place to rush to him, "What happened? What did Dean say?"

"Nothing," Castiel grimly said. "He just lied there, looking at me with this… face, like all life was sucked out of him. I couldn't stand watching him like that," He buried his face in his hands, shaking.

"We should call Bobby," Sam said. "He was here all our lives. He would know what's wrong with him."

They ended up calling the old man. And Bobby, when heard what happened, let out a daisy chain of curses, with an 'idjit' on top.

"What's wrong, Bobby?" Castiel laid the phone between them putting it on speaker, the three of them anxious.

" _He was like that after the fire_ ," Bobby said. " _Didn't say a word for months. Had John and Karen worried as hell. Only thing he did was watch over Sam, made food for him, cleaned after him, all that shit. Also had nightmares for a while. The only way your gonna get to him is by having him take care of Sam, I guess_."

"Okay, thank you, Bobby," Castiel said, choking on his sobs.

" _You better take care of that brat._ "

"Don't worry, we will. Thank you again."

" _No problem… idjits,_ " Bobby muttered, clearly agitated, and hung up.

Castiel placed the phone away as they all fell into a very awkward silence…

"You're kidding me, right?" Sam burst out after a while. When the Shurleys looked at him with weird faces he added, "I mean, he was just a child and he already took care of me. Hell, that probably was the only thing that kept him going. How twisted is that? What about dad? Where was he in this whole fucked up place?"

"Language, Sam," Chuck and Castiel said together, earning a bitch-face from Sam.

"But I'm right, right?" They sighed and after a short silence nodded.

"So what do you want to do? Do you want to go to him?" Castiel said with a scoff.

Sam nodded and rushed upstairs, leaving the Shurleys to wait on the couch for any news.

* * *

Sam knocked on the door hesitantly and cracked it open, "Dean? Brother?"

Silence, he opened the door more and sneaked into the room to see Dean still in bed, looking at the ceiling with dead eyes. He sat on the floor, attempting to act like a brother in need, and hating himself for that act of manipulation, "Dean?"

Said toddler/teen turned to look at him and got up from the bed, crouching by him. He reached out and embraced Sam, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Sam let him do that and smiled warmly against his chest, snuggling to it.

* * *

"So how did it go?" Castiel said when Sam exited the room when Dean fell asleep after drawing a bath for Sam and made him lie down to sleep. That made Sam chuckle and even though it made him uncomfortable, he had let his brother do that.

"I just discovered that Dean can do anything, even mute," Sam mumbled, amazed and slightly happy. The bath and the sleep were moments of happiness to him, even if he won't admit it to adult Dean. It brought nice memories back to him.

"He moved?"

"Yes. He hugged me as if I was the one who should be comforted and then made me take a bath, with him," Sam blushed.

Castiel chuckled. "Well, at the lake, Dean told me you used to dry out naked until you were 'bitching' about it a year or two back."

Sam blushed harder. "Something I regret badly right now. I couldn't remember a time I was that relaxed, other than the sleepover I had with Jess two months ago."

The blue eyed teen smiled and looked at the door longingly, wanting to share that moment also, but knowing it would take months until Dean would remember him, and who knows what shape he would be in then.

Sam noticed that and placed a hand on his shoulder, noting that he's able to do that more easily now. Castiel noticed that as well, "You're growing taller, Sammy."

"Thanks, just wished Dean would be here to tease me or something like that," Sam mourned and his shoulders shook. "I just want my brother back."

"I know, I know," Castiel pressed Sam's head to his chest with one hand.

The door was banged open, making them jump, and Dean with sleepy eyes went to Sam and hugged him tightly, rubbing circles on the back of his neck and sending an accusing glare at Castiel, who felt his eyes burn and stepped back.

Sam tugged on Dean's shirt, making the teen look down at the puppy eyes his little brother was making. "Cas was only making me feel better. He's my friend."

Dean faltered and looked up to Castiel with suspicion but also gratefulness and Castiel smiled and reached out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Dean. I'm Castiel and I'm very fond of your brother."

Dean looked at the hand and slowly took it and flipped it, as if trying to read something in it. Then he looked up with a confused expression at Castiel, as if he was trying to recognize him but couldn't, which made Castiel hope a bit that he would remember him, but then he shook his head and his hand went to ruffle his hair, as if to thank him.

Castiel pouted but felt his heart soar when he was graced by a small smile by Dean.

"Can we go play something?" Sam pleaded with him, for some reason a dark feeling pooling in him over the fact that the first smile he had seen since Dean had remembered was to Castiel, but he quickly brushed it off as ridiculous.

Dean smiled and nodded, and Sam pulled him back into the room. Dean stopped and turned to Castiel with a tilt of his head. Castiel copied the action and Dean motioned him to join them. The teen beamed and followed them.

* * *

Two days later, Jess and Sam sat on the couch while Dean was relearning to cook.

"Hey, Jess?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I'm a bad person?" Jess almost choked on her juice and she turned to look at him with shock and confusion.

"Why in heaven's name would you think that?!" She coughed.

Sam fiddled with his hands. "I mean… I just can't help but feel jealous of Castiel."

"Why?" She inquired, still trying to get the juice out of her lungs. Sam quietly rubbed her back and she patted his hand in gratitude.

"Even when Dean doesn't remember anything, he still is drawn to Castiel and I feel like I want him all to myself. I want to be the center of attention from my brother, but Castiel stole his first smile since he remembered the fire and made him trust him in a second," He rumbled, feeling very ashamed of himself.

Jess just stared at him for a long time before snorting and then bursting out laughing. "Oh, Sam, you got it bad."

"What do you mean?" He asked with a quirk of his brow and a small pout.

"I mean, you always had your brother pinning and spoiling you. And since he had met Castiel, he divided his attention to the both of you. So when you finally had the chance of having all that love to yourself again, you don't want to let go of it. That's like having a brother steal all of your parents' attention," She shook with laughter. "And to think you would get jealous over it when he's acting like a child."

Sam pout grew bigger but then realized she was right and sighed. "I need to apologize to him, don't I?"

"Nah, I don't think they even noticed that," Jess comforted him. "You just need to remember that Dean loves you and no matter how much Castiel will take of his heart, there will always be some piece for you."

"Thanks, Jess, you're the best," Sam smiled at her and she beamed at him.

"Well, I don't know…" She smirked and kissed his cheek.

* * *

"Here is Dean's first meal as a kid," Castiel exclaimed when everyone sat down around the table, beaming with pride.

Dean glared at him but then shyly placed the big pot of Mac 'n cheese in front of Sam and scooped a big helping of the food, pouring it on Sam's plate. He smiled to Sam, gauging his reaction.

Sam smiled back and took one bite of the pasta, his face brightening up, "That's so good. Oh my god, Dean, you're amazing!"

Dean blushed and beamed at him, shrugging. Castiel smiled at them and helped dividing the food around the table.

Dean sat down between Sam and Castiel with a big smile on his face, something that was different than he was a child. The first few months when he only smiled at Sam, but small smiles and Sam never talked to him then, seeing he was only a baby.

A flash of memory made his eyes glaze.

_"Eat it up, boys," John said as he placed eight years old Dean on his lap and scooped a big helping of beef stew into his plate. Young Dean's eyes shone with joy, eager to eat this rare treat._

_Four years old Sam smiled as well and happily went to eat his share, not caring that Dean is the one on their father's lap._

_"Are you okay, ace?" John asked when Dean was slowly eating his food unlike the other day when he was stuffing the food into his mouth._

_Dean looked up to his dad. "Can't remember the last time we had dinner like that, that's all."_

_"I'm sorry I was being irresponsible," John sighed and ruffled Dean's hair. "Thank you for taking care of Sammy. I'm so proud of you."_

_Dean beamed and snuggled into his father's embrace. "It's nothing special, dad."_

_John just smiled and kissed his hair, "You're very special, Dean. You have something that no other child has."_

_"What?"_

_"Angels, you have angels in your blood."_

_Dean scoffed. "You're mocking me."_

_John chuckled. "One day you'll understand."_

"Dean?" Castiel asked and Dean blinked his eyes, face contorting into confusion.

"Dad… said that I have angels in me…" Dean muttered and everyone gasped.

"How old are you, Dean?" Chuck asked.

"Eight…" Dean said suspiciously. "Why, gotta a problem with that?"

"No, no, no, it's just that…"

"That what? Do I even know you? What's going on here?" Dean stood up. "Where is Sammy?"

"I'm here, brother," Sam squeaked.

Dean glared at him. "Liar, you look nothing like my brother, you're too old for that anyway."

"Dean, you lost your memories," Castiel sighed. "We're in the year 2013 and you're seventeen years old."

Dean gaped. "Are you shitting me or something?!" When everyone shook there head, he looked down to himself and squeaked. "You're not kidding, I look like a bully."

"But you're nothing like that," Castiel assured him.

"So who are you guys?" He said finally and sat down, not remembering when he stood up, still tense and ready to bolt.

Castiel introduced his father, Jess and himself, then asked him if he could remember when he was four, and if they showed in them.

Dean looked at them like they were nut-cases, "Dude, why would I remember you guys? I never met you until later, so why would I remember you from earlier in my life?"

"Was just wondering," Castiel sighed.

"I see, where's dad?"

Everyone froze and Dean narrowed his eyes, "What's wrong with my dad?"

"He… well…" Chuck was near breakdown.

"Dad is dead," Sam interrupted him with a cold expression.

Dean stared at him, "But he just made us… oh right…" He sighed, eyes hard.

Castiel embraced him. "Its okay, Dean, you have us right now."

Dean didn't answer him, only hiding his face in his shirt, quickly wetting it with silent sobs.

 _Even with no memories of Castiel, he's still letting him see his most vulnerable moments,_  Sam gripped his fork tighter, hating himself of feeling those feelings when his brother was experiencing everything again. Jess sighed and landed a hand on his shoulder, making him turn to her. "It's okay, you'll soon be able to hug your brother as much as you like."

Sam nodded and watched Dean crying with Castiel comforting him.

* * *

"So Dean doesn't remember anything from now?" Chuck asked later that day. Gabriel, who had returned after noticing his charge's dismay, nodded.

"It appears so. It's like a defense mechanism so that the memories won't break him. I actually prefer that, after all, I don't want to have my hand in ruining Sammy's family. I'm supposed to protect him after all, no?" He returned to suck on his lollipop.

* * *

Dean was locked in his room, sulking and annoyed by the fact that Sam doesn't need his attention to protect him anymore.

He felt like he was the most worthless kid on earth. He means, he can't even protect his brother anymore and he's not even in his right time! He must have protected him fine with the mind of a teen, but now? He can't even drive or help Sammy with his homework.

He couldn't help but thinking also about Castiel, he feels like he means something for him, is he like his brother?

He touched his lips hesitantly, feeling the want to know how Castiel's lips feel like. He turned bright red and shook his head at the ridiculous idea. Why would Cas like him anyway? It's not like he's something important anyway. He felt once again like something dark wanting to claim his soul and he shuddered, his eyes glazing.

* * *

**_"Hello, angel," A man approached him while he was doing groceries for Sammy._ **

**_"What?" Dean spat, not having the patience to deal with creeps right now._ **

**_"Oh, so cold," The man chuckled and a shiver went up his spine, there was something wrong with this man._ **

**_He held his bag closer to him and stepped away slowly. "What do you want?"_ **

**_The man smirked and stepped closer to him, reaching out his hand, his eyes flashing with black. "No need to be afraid of me, angel. I just want you."_ **

**_"Get away from me, you freak!" Dean couldn't move with fear._ **

**_The man tsk'ed. "Not very nice to me, Dean Campbell_ ** **_Winchester_ ** **_…"_ **

**_"How the fuck do you know my name?!"_ **

**_"Because you're mine, and no matter where you run, I'll find you and make you mine," The man came closer and gripped his neck, his dark smoke surrounding him…_ **

_Dean sat up in his bed, panting…_

* * *

A blood-coiling scream made everyone freeze. Castiel rushed upstairs with Sam and Gabriel following him.

"Dean!" Castiel threw the door open and a shriek made him look at the furthest corner of the room, where Dean was curled into a ball.

He crouched by him, "Dean?"

"Get away from me!" Dean cried, curling further into his place. "Get away from me, you freak!"

Castiel felt his heart break. "Dean? What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"Shut up! You're just a dream, you can't hurt me!"

"A dream?"

Dean looked up, panicking as he scanned him with frantic eyes. "Who are you?"

Castiel sighed, so Dean moved forward in what he had remembered. So now he had a nightmare being remembered. "What were you dreaming about?"

" **Who are you**?"

"Castiel, I'm a friend of yours. You've lost your memories… how old are you now?"

"Nine… so you not gonna choke me to death?" Dean asked with wide innocent eyes.

Castiel gasped with shock. "What?! Never!"

"But… that man, he had black eyes… and he had smoke… and he told me that he would return to me… and he tried to choke me…" He shook with big and fearful eyes.

It suddenly clicked to Castiel, Dean was dreaming about Alistair. He knew about that demon before he had met him in person?

Castiel immediately gathered him into his arms. "Shh… it's okay… he can't hurt you. It was only a dream, he can't hurt you. I'll protect you."

Dean buried his face into Castiel's shirt for the second day in a day, feeling weary.

"'m tired," He slurred, his eyes closing off.

Castiel smiled and kissed his head. "Sleep then, Dean. I'll stay here to protect you, okay?"

Dean nodded and dozed off. Castiel sighed and tightened his hold, cursing Alistair for managing to hurt his friend before even meeting him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you think?
> 
> sorry if dean and castiel were OOC, but i really don't know how to write them.
> 
> please review, it's like drugs for me (not literary ;p).
> 
> love ya'll and see ya next chapter.


	19. Memories

"I'm getting really tired of it…" Castiel muttered two days later when Dean remembered his father taking care of him while being sick and had forgotten them all over again.

"It's like he goes through his life again, and our memories just won't stick."

Dean looked at him with concerned eyes and he smiled back at him before laying his head back on the pillow. He became sick after not sleeping properly for a while and then eating an expired meat. His stomach churned and he cursed himself for disregarding the expiration date.

"Are you okay, Cas?" Dean asked, brushing his hand over his burning forehead.

Castiel smiled and held the hand to his cheek, happy he could finally do something like that again.

Dean was now mentally ten years old and Castiel was dreading the time he would remember the fight with his father. He coughed and Dean brought him immediately a cup of water. "Here some, don't strain yourself."

"Thank you," He rasped and drank the water, closing his eyes as Dean cooled his face with a wet towel and shivered.

Dean smiled faintly and kissed his forehead. Then blushed when Castiel's confused eyes looked to him. "It's what my mom and dad did to me when I was sick. It helps you feel better."

Castiel smiled sadly and tears filled his eyes. "You have no idea how much it means to me." Tears fell from his eyes as he looked up to the teen-turned-child, wanting more than ever to be able to kiss him and love him.

Dean looked alerted, eyes wide in alarm. "What's wrong, Cas?"

"Nothing," He croaked a laugh, holding his hand tighter. "Nothing at all, everything is perfect..." He closed his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.

Dean watched him sleep, shiver and then pant and decided to help him warm up. He crawled into the bed and gathered the feverish teen into his arms, baffled when he felt right and whole, like he missed a piece before.

"What are you to me?" Dean asked with narrowed eyes as he traced Castiel's flushed face with his fingers and suddenly he felt a cold breeze pass him and his eyes glazed over.

* * *

_It was the day he had heard that his father had been in the accident. He couldn't take the guilt and the pain, so he left Sam by the Singers and roamed the streets, his face streaked by un-shed tears and pain that no child should have._

_A small droplet of water on his face made him look up to see the day-skies turn dark gray and rain started to fall in pattering sounds._

_He looked down and the hot tears finally fell from his eyes, mingling with the rain. He pushed his hands into his pockets and walked down the road._

_"Hey, kid, watch it!" He turned to see a bicycle pass him and he tripped over his feet and fell onto the floor._

_He stayed on the floor, wishing for everything to end. He was tired, sad, injured, and worthless. He made an important person in his life go and get killed, how could he?_

_"I'm so sorry, dad!" He cried to the muddy ground. "I'm so sorry. I miss you daddy, I love you daddy, I'm sorry."_

_A sob that wasn't his made him look up to the alley entrance in front of him. He stood up, staggering over his scraped legs, and approached the abandoned alley._

_More sobs alerted him to a small ball at the small space by the garbage pile. He slowly walked toward the ball and realized it was a smaller kid with a plop of dark hair._

_"Kiddo?" He asked and the child jumped and looked up to him. And he was met with big sad blue eyes._

_"What's wrong?" He crouched by the child and laid a hand on his hair. The child flinched but didn't draw back, only shaking his head._

_He sighed and sat by him, drawing him into a hug, trying to shelter him from the rain that kept falling. The kid clutched his shirt and cried into it._

_"Shh… what happened?" It didn't look like he was homeless, he had clean, although very wet, clothes and he smelled nice, like forest and light._

_"My father got drunk again," The kid muttered with a voice slightly lower than normal to his age. "He almost hit me and I ran away."_

_He tightened his grip on the kid, how could a parent do it? His father never hit him, even though he always was drunk as well._

_"Where's your house?" He wanted to go there and punch that stupid bastard._

_"Are you going to bring me back to the motel?" The child asked, scared._

_"No! No way!" He exclaimed. "I just want to give your dad a piece of my mind about treating children like that."_

_"He's not like that. It's just the week after my mother's anniversary, and he gets edgy. He didn't want to hit me, but he almost fell and hit me, so I got scared and ran away."_

_"Don't make excuses for him, he needs to take his life in his hands and take care of you."_

_"Thank you…"_

_"So if you're not from here, where are you from?" He inquired._

_"From New-York. We just came here to visit family friends."_

_He shifted so the kid would be in his lap and enveloped him to protect him from the rain. The kid noticed his battered form and choked. "Are you okay? You're injured!"_

_"I'm fine, I just fell," He reassured him. "I was running away as well…"_

_"Why?"_

_He choked on tears and the kid hugged him back. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me…"_

_"My dad died this morning," He croaked and cried when the kid cupped his face and smiled at him._

_The kid that only now he noticed was the same age as him hugged his neck. "It's okay to cry… shh… everything will be alright…"_

_"I never told my father how much I love him," Dean cried into the kid's chest._

_"I'm sure that he does know how much you love him and is watching you, to see that you're safe."_

_"Like mom does?" He looked into the beautiful blue eyes and the kid looked streaked by grief before nodding and smiling at him. He broke down and sobbed loudly into the kid's hug. "I'm so sorry, dad! I love you, dad! Please! Come back!"_

_The kid, the angel with the blue eyes, let him cry all night, crying himself, none caring that the rain fell harder and that they were freezing to the bone…_

* * *

_The angel with the blue eyes…_  Dean opened his eyes and looked into Castiel's blue eyes. Castiel tilted his head in confusion and Dean blinked also, taking the place around him.

"Since when we moved from the street to my room?" He wondered and Castiel sighed, his face still flushed.

"What age are you?"

"Why do you ask that? I think the same as you, twelve, but why would you ask that? How did you bring me here anyway, kiddo?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I meant, we were just in that alley, remember? You look sick," Dean slapped his face. "Of course you'll be sick, we were in that rain that long. I'm so sorry for crying like that."

"Dean? I seriously don't know what you're talking about…"

"How do you know my name? I never told you my name. And don't you remember the alley, where you cried because your father almost hit you after getting hit? God, you act like this is the first time we met."

Castiel's eyes grew wider. "Dean, what's my name?"

"You never told me… why?"

"I'm Castiel-"

"Well, it's very nice to finally know your name," Dean smiled and sat up. "Now what do you say I'll make you some soup?"

"Dean," Castiel tried to sit up, only to be held down by the teen. He sighed, "What date is it?"

"Well, I met you by the third of May, but it could be the fourth, 2007."

Then everything came back to Castiel – Chuck getting drunk because of mother's anniversary, running away, crying in that alley, the boy who came to him and comforted him, the rain…

"Oh my god, we met before!" Castiel cried out and coughed because of the sudden intake of air.

"Really? When we were kids?" Dean asked with shock and awe.

"No, you dumbass, you've lost your memories. You're seventeen now and all your memories vanished. You're now remembering that day."

Dean froze, his eyes wide with shock. "So that means…?"

"Yeah, I met you almost a year ago and we became friends. I can't believe we knew each other before," Castiel smiled widely.

"So you went back to New-York?"

"Yes, and a year ago, I transferred to here and I met you at class," Castiel looked up to see Dean with wide eyes and his mouth agape.

"What about your father? Did he hit you again?" Dean looked angry.

Castiel shook his head. "He never did, Dean, and he's better now, thank you."

Dean blushed. "Nothing to be thankful for." He froze again, "Wait… what about Sammy?"

"Oh, he's sleeping in the other room. Do you want me to call him?" Castiel said but Dean frowned at him and pushed him deeper to the bed.

"No, you're going to lie down and sleep that fever away, okay?" Dean smiled. "I'll go to Sammy, I have to tell him about dad."

"He knows," Castiel sighed but felt his eyes droop again and he fell back asleep. Dean smiled and kissed his forehead subconsciously before walking out of the room.

* * *

"Sammy?" He knocked on the door and slowly opened it, ready to see eight years old boy crying on the bed. But instead was met with a thirteen years old looking at him with shock and happiness from his place in front of a computer he had never seen before that somehow looked like it was used for many years.

"Dean!" Sam jumped at him and made him fall to the ground. "You remember! You remember me!"

"Sammy, off!" He pushed the kid from him. "If you are talking about my seventeen memories, no, I'm not. I just know that you're Sammy, that's all."

Sam looked like he had punched the air out of him and he looked down, "Oh… I see…"

"I'm sorry, Sammy," his big-brother instincts made him embrace him tightly. "I'm sorry for making you sad. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay… after all, you saved our lives," Sam murmured. "I love you, Dean."

"I love you, too, Sammy," Dean said a bit awkwardly. He looked at the computer, "What's that?"

"A computer, Dean," Sam had his bitch-face on and he groaned.

"Dude, I can see that. But I never saw this brand before. Is it the brand new computer I promised you we'll buy?" Dean tilted his head.

Sam beamed. "Yeah, you bought me one two years after… you know…" He trailed off, frowning.

Dean looked down, the guilt still fresh, "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault that dad-"

"Don't," Sam warned him, eyes full of fury. "Don't blame yourself for what that bastard did to us."

"Sam! Don't talk like that, he was our father," Dean smacked Sam's head. "Dad was  ** _not_**  a bastard. He was just a man grieving."

"How old are you?"

"Twelve, dad died yesterday," Dean sighed.

"I'm so sorry," Sam bit his lip and hugged him tightly. Dean pulled out of the hug and ruffled his hair, "What is it with everyone and hugs? I'm  _fine_ , kiddo."

"No, you're not, Dean. Remember, Dad is the one who brought this on himself, not you. If he would have thought of his own son's birthday gift instead of taking the money for more booze and shit, we wouldn't be here, and you would've not met Castiel. He makes you very happy, you know?" Sam said with adoring expression.

Dean blushed. "I actually knew him…"

"What do you mean?"

"I met him on the day that dad… you know…" Sam's eyes grew wide.

"Really?!" He almost squealed and Dean winched and rubbed his ears.

"What are you? A girl? Stop shrieking like that," He groaned when Sam gave him another bitch-face. "Don't be a bitch, kiddo."

"Jerk." Dean looked up in shock and Sam realized that the 'jerk' 'bitch' banter begun later on and blushed.

"We do that a lot… you call me a 'bitch' and I call you a 'jerk'…"

"Suits you, being a bitch," Dean smirked and the pre-teen bitchfaced again.

"So you know Cas how?" Sam ignored his growing smirk.

"I shouldn't tell it without his consent. Maybe later," Dean didn't want to share this small moment of peace with his brother.

Sam pouted. "But Dean~"

"No," He said harshly now, glaring at him.

"Please?" Sam attacked him with puppy eyes and Dean, who still wasn't immune to their power, was about to give in when a knock on the door interrupted them.

Dean sighed in relief and opened the door and almost stumbled back when Castiel's dead weight fell on him.

Castiel clutched his shirt, crying into it, and the baffled teen hugged him back and patted his hair. "What's wrong? You're still sick, you should be in bed."

"B-but they took you!" Castiel said, a childish tone to his voice. He looked up with glazed eyes and a flushed face.

Dean sighed, Sam used to have nightmares of Dean being kidnapped as well when he was sick so he wasn't appalled by the news. "What happened? Who took me?"

"Alistair! And Zachariah too, they were about to turn you into Daniel again!" Castiel sobbed.

Sam sighed and explained to the confused Dean that something had happened before he lost his memory and Castiel is probably remembering that again. Dean nodded, knowing when he shouldn't know something, and picked Castiel up without thinking and brought him back to his bedroom, laying him on the bed.

"Don't leave me again, Dean," Castiel gripped his shirt when Dean tried to pry himself from him. Dean sighed and sat on the bed, "What's got your panties in a twist, Cas?"

"Don't leave… I love you," Castiel muttered, his fever making him forget that Dean doesn't remember him.

Dean turned bright red and spluttered. "W-what are you talking about?!"

Castiel looked at him with big watery eyes. "You don't love me anymore, Dean? I… I'm so sorry, you're probably are disgusted by me now…"

Dean felt guilty, just because the present Dean is here, he shouldn't be the one ruining their relationship. So he smiled a bit forcibly and brushed Castiel's forehead, "Don't be silly, Cas, I… I feel the… the same way…"

"Really?" Dean nodded, his smile turned genuine when Castiel sighed in bliss and fell asleep.

Before he could catch himself, he bent over to plant a kiss on the teen's forehead. Dean blinked and blushed as he stood back up and tried to get away, only to have Castiel's hand clutch his hand tight, not letting go.

Dean sighed and sat back on the bed, the mattress slightly sinking under him, rubbing his thumb over Castiel's forehand.

* * *

_He sat by the school's computer, going through the network and the codes. He has to protect Sam, and if he won't do anything, at this rate, they'll take Sammy away from him. He can't let them take him away._

_He looked at a code of the government and knew that he could now make a new persona._

_Let's see, name…_

_He grinned and typed 'Dean Campbell'_

_Date… 'Second of November, 1979'_

_He continued to fill the important blanks and clicked on the 'ok'._

_Time to show the world what a big brother can do to protect his little brother._

* * *

Dean blinked. He was sitting in front of a new kind of computer in front of a program of search. He looked at the search tab where 'angels' was written in it. Why in hell would he search on angels? Is he finally losing it?

The door opened behind him and turned to see Sam walk in. He squinted his eyes, there was something different about his brother…

"Since when you grew up so much, shrimp? And what the hell is up with that hair?"

Sam looked up in surprise. He then relaxed and smiled. "Hello, Dean."

"Okay, now I know something is wrong. What got you a vagina?" Dean asked warily.

His little brother shrugged. "I'm really not in the mood to pick up fights with you, Jerk."

"Bitch."

Sam smirked, "How old are you, Dean?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Just humor me, alright?"

The teen sighed. "Fine, thirteen, happy?"

"What are you doing in front of the computer?" Sam gestured to the machine.

"Not important," Dean waved off his hand. "More importantly, when did we get it? I remember you wanted to have one of those monsters, but I never got around getting you one, yet…"

Sam smiled and sat by his brother, "You'd lost your memories, Dean. This is 2013 and you're seventeen. You got me this computer three years ago."

Dean looked at him like he was a nut-case, "Did you drink too much juice again, Sammy?"

The pre-teen pouted. "I did not! Dean, look at yourself."

Dean deadpanned at him, then looked at himself and his eyes almost fell from their sockets, "Are you shi- kidding me?!" He stopped himself from cursing in front of his brother.

Sam chuckled. His brother was so protective of him.

"What's so funny, bitch?"

"You, jerk," Sam said automatically.

"What? Because I don't believe your fantasy dreams again?"

"No," Sam rolled his eyes. "Just believe me, okay? I'll get Cas to tell you, okay?"

"Who the hell is Cas?"

The pre-teen's head snapped to his big brother, "You don't remember him?"

"Remember who?" Now Dean was getting annoyed.

Sam sighed and decided to leave it at that. "Never mind."

He went to go out of the room and Dean jumped from his chair, stumbling on his long limbs he wasn't used to and followed him out of the room. Okay, maybe there was something in Sam's story.

* * *

"Really? Did you have to do that?" Bobby and Chuck watched as Castiel was scolding the slightly sheepish mentally fifteen years old Dean, who thought a prank would be suitable for the day.

Dean shrugged, his face now a perfect poker face. Since he remembered the death of his father, when not around his brother, Dean would become quiet and aloof. But his actions spoke volumes – he would make breakfast for everyone, clean the house. He took care of Bobby when the base he made collapsed and he fell on the ruins, resulting in several stitches and bandages.

Now, apparently, he thought that a prank would be a nice touch for the week stone mile of him staying in that age since he found a dog walking down the road and remembered when Sam wanted a dog for Christmas. It was easy to say that he was really confused when he had found himself standing in the middle of the heat instead of being buried with snow to the knee.

"Dean…" Castiel warned him and said teen smirked, folding his arms behind him innocently.

Castiel was drenched with ketchup. Needless to say that he freaked out and almost attacked someone while Dean was laughing his head off. When Castiel realized it was only ketchup, he felt anger bubble in him.

"Sit down!" He glowed and Dean was thrown to the couch, his face shocked and a bit scared.

"How the hell did you do that?" Finally Dean had said something to Castiel, but the teen was too angry with the youngster to care. He walked toward him with a menacing aura and a sick smirk, promising the teen pain.

Dean looked at him with wide eyes and flailed his hands. "Whoa, whoa, dude, relax! I was just kidding, chill out! Can someone stop this lunatic here?!"

"Your mess, young man," The adults shook with laughter.

Sam entered the room at that moment. He froze and took in the scene in front of him.

"Dean…" He sighed deeply. His brother was suicidal.

"What?" Dean tried to run away, but was pinned to his place by Castiel's hands.

"You're going to pay, Dean Winchester," Castiel glared at him and raised a hand up.

Dean screwed his eyes shut tightly, waiting for the blow. After a few moments, he got confused by the lack of pain and dared to open his eyes.

"You're a scardy-cat, Dean," Castiel huffed and drew away, inwardly smirking.

Dean sighed in relief and fell back on the couch. "No, I'm not..."

"And you're a bad liar at that as well, my dear," Castiel grimaced.

Dean pouted and looked away with a frown, folding his arms.

Castiel sighed and went to shower, his heart still beating rapidly and his head full of scenarios of Dean being harmed again without him being able to stop it again.


	20. Anna

When Dean was mentally sixteen and just a year before meeting Castiel, the dark haired teen couldn’t help himself thinking in glee that Dean will remember him soon and everything will go back to normal… well, as normal as two former angel-vessels could be.

Dean remembered when he started freshman year and when the new student, who apparently was a bully in his previous school, already gathered a small group around him and tried to bully Dean. They laughed about his life with no parents and a small brother who was smarter than him, which was not true at all. Dean told them that he punched the kid so hard he went to the hospital and never came back. Fortunately, the teachers knew about that kid’s past records and didn’t hold any charges against him except a month long detention.

“What do you want, Castiel?” Dean asked when said teen went to get himself some milk and coincidentally bumped to Dean, who was still aloof and upset all the time, a hormonal teenager with no time to himself.

“Just came by to get some milk…” Castiel sighed and tried to smile at the teen, but he got a bigger scowl in response and decided to leave it at that, the punch to the chest from earlier was enough for him.

“Whatever…” Dean huffed and passed through him to get to the fridge. He bent down, and Castiel had to look away so to not gawk at the ‘sight’ he saw. Dean stood right up and gulped down the soda can, looking at Castiel with a knowing look. Castiel blushed and stomped away.

Dean squashed the can with his hand and threw it to the garbage, looking at the place where the dark haired teen just vanished from, a deep frown on his face.

What the hell is wrong with him? Dean splashed water on his face in the bathroom, trying to wipe Castiel’s face from his eyes. Since the moment he stopped fighting the hands trying to pine him down, he couldn’t stop but try to make the dark haired teen acknowledge him in any way. There was something different with that boy and Dean was terrified from what he meant for him in his real age. His hands gripped the sink tightly and clenched his teeth. No, he thought nothing of that brat, all that matters is Sammy, he is not important. But still, his chest tightened when he thought about living without Castiel. What the hell had that bastard done to him?

He looked up to the mirror and something had caught his eyes, he turned to face the mirror from the side and rolled up his sleeve, almost choking in shock and horror.

There was a big burn of a handprint on his calf, and it looked suspiciously to be Castiel’s hand. He stared at it with wide eyes for a while, until Sam’s voice called from the living room to come and eat lunch. He groaned and decided to leave it at that, and rushed outside.

“Are you okay, Dean?” Sam asked when all Dean did was to poke at his food. His brother didn’t answer, continuing to murder his food instead.

Chuck and Castiel looked at each other and sighed, knowing that this is a lost battle – if Dean didn’t want to eat, no one will be able to make him.

“Dean? What’s wrong?” Sam tried again and Dean sighed, placing his fork down.

“Nothing, would you please stop mother-henning me and go back to your own plate? If you hadn’t noticed, you haven’t eaten as well, bitch.”

“You’re not getting away from this, you jerk,” Sam snarled at him.

“Yeah, I can and I will,” Dean stood up and pushed harshly the table before walking away. “And for the record, don’t think you can handle what’s wrong with me,” Dean murmured before swiftly disappearing up the stairs, slamming the door to his room with so much force the ceiling puffed some dust over them.

“What does he mean?” Sam said, scoffing. Castiel sighed, “I don’t know…”

“Think about it, Sammy,” Chuck said, surprising them both. “Dean is stuck in a body of a seventeen years old body with memories of only sixteen of them. He was also thrown into a reality he doesn’t know anything about, and that’s a lot of pressure and fear. I’m surprised he didn’t shout at us earlier. He’s a strong kid, after all.”

Both boys hung their heads down in shame, they never thought of Dean’s condition like that and now they felt bad for pushing the teen and basically bullying him.

“He’s just coping with this reality the best way he can, denial and tough-act. Please don’t make it any harder for him please,” Chuck pleaded with them.

“Since when did you become such an expert of teenagers, father?” Castiel asked with sad amusement.

Chuck faintly smiled. “Since Karen knocked some sense into my drunken ass and made me realize what a father should be.”

Castiel stood up and went to his place and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, father.”

Chuck patted the hands, his eyes wet, “Your welcome, son. Thank you for being our son, even if you’re not biologically ours.”

Castiel smiled and buried his face in his father’s neck, tears escaping his eyes.

Sam smiled and swiftly went to his room, leaving the small family to rejoice together.

* * *

Dean sulked in his room. Of course, he denied the fact that he was sulking, but the scoff, the dark thoughts and the fatal position he was in on his bed showed otherwise.

A small frame caught his eyes and he took off the desk a small framed picture and brought it closer, his throat tightening. It was a picture of him and Castiel smiling gummy smiles at the camera. They seemed to be in a place near a lake and his eyes glazed once more.

* * *

 

_“Come on! Come here!” Castiel dragged him to the small camp they made. It was the last day they spent by the lake and he felt slightly sad that that special moment, that magical time would finish soon, too soon for his taste, not like he would admit that any time soon._

_“Whoa, Cas, relax! We have all day,” He stumbled and made them fall to the ground. They looked at the position they had found themselves in – Castiel sprawled on the floor with Dean straddling his hips – and laughed, sharing a kiss before getting up._

_Castiel crouched by his bag and rummaged in it until he let out a shout of victory and took out a small one-time camera._

_He smiled. “What do you want to take a picture of?”_

_Castiel made him sit down on a thick branch by the edge of the lake and sat by him, holding the camera over them._

_“Smile for the camera, Dean,” Castiel smiled toward the camera. He sighed playfully before flashing a charming smile as well._

_The flash made him think of the light from the first night, but then was returned to reality by warm lips pressing to his and he hummed in pleasure as he held his precious love._

_“I love you, Dean,” Castiel was flushed and breathed when they departed._

_Dean blushed as well and cupped his nape. “I love you, too, Cas.”_

* * *

Dean looked at the picture and then looked around the room, baffled. When did they return home? Did he fall sleep and Cas drove the way back?

“Dean?” He looked up to see Castiel walk through the door.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean smiled and stood up to kiss him, only to have Castiel freeze. “Cas? What’s wrong?”

“Dean?” Castiel looked up to him with teary eyes. “You… you remember?”

“Remember what? That I fell asleep while we were at the lake? How did you bring us back anyway?”

Castiel laughed and tackled him to the bed, crying and showering him with kisses, “Dean! You’re back! I missed you so much!”

Dean was confused. “Missed you…? What do you mean? What’s wrong?” He pried him off from him and kissed his hands. “What happened? Did I have a heart-attack during the night or something? You’re scaring me a bit, Cas…”

Castiel froze. Oh, right… it’s not Dean, it’s the Dean from before Azazel and the angels’ crap. He felt his tears come down faster and he clung to his perplexed friend, who had no idea why was Castiel crying if the last day he remembered they had was so good.

“Shh… it’s okay, Cas. I don’t know what’s wrong, but everything will be alright…” He kissed the teen’s dark hair and hummed softly.

“I love you, Dean…” Castiel cried, his face in his friend’s chest.

“Me too,” Dean sighed and shifted so Castiel was in his arms as they lied by each other on the bed. “It’ll be all alright, Cas. I swear.”

Castiel nodded and slowly nodded off, secured in his friend’s arms.

* * *

 

“Hey, guys!” Dean said when Castiel finally fell asleep and he carefully pried himself and crept to the kitchen to ask some questions.

“Hey, Dean,” Sam smiled a forced smile and Dean tilted his head.

“Okay, what the hell is wrong with everyone today? Did I do something wrong back at the lake? I mean, Cas was acting as if I was dead, for god’s sake!”

“You remember Cas?” Sam’s jaw fell slack and Dean groaned.

“Great, now I know for sure something had happened.” He smacked Sam’s head, “What did I do, bitch? Did I knock my head or something? Did I die? You all act as if I just returned from the dead. If someone won’t tell me what happened, I’m gonna kill myself with worry.”

“No!” Sam cried and grabbed his brother’s hands. “Don’t you dare even suggest that!” He sniffled and hugged Dean tightly. “You fell into a coma and then lost all of your memories and… and you looked at us like we were strangers,” Sam shook and big tears fell from his eyes. “It was horrible, it was so awful. Please, never do it again.”

Dean’s eyes grew wide and he swept his brother to a big hug. “Oh god, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“It wasn’t your fault, brother. You saved us and pushed your body too hard.”

“So that’s why Cas…”

“Yeah, he was the one who you didn’t remember at all until now and he could never do what he did with you…” Sam sniffled again and drew away, wiping his eyes. “Do you know that you still don’t have all your memories?”

“What?! Then… then how much do I still have to remember?” Dean fell to a chair and placed his head in his palms, suddenly too tired to even lift his head.

“A month or something like that,” Sam smiled. “So you don’t have a lot to remember.”

“But from what I saw, our whole world changed in that month,” Dean narrowed his eyes.

His little brother smiled knowingly, “Actually, the whole world has changed literally.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me show you…” Sam clicked on the television where the news lady was just reviewing the happening since the ‘Globe Shifting’.

* * *

 

“Wow… I never gonna fall into a coma ever again…” Dean breathed when Sam turned off the machine and looked at him with tired eyes. “I miss all the fun,” He said sarcastically.

“You didn’t, bro. You fell into coma because of what happened.”

“I see… where Chuck, Karen, Bobby, and your girlfriend?”

“Chuck is in bed. Karen and Bobby went home yesterday. And Jess… her parents don’t let her out of the house because they’re scared of something happening again.”

“Well, can’t say I blame them for thinking like that. I would do the same thing with you,” Dean joked.

Sam huffed. “I endured much worse than some bricks and fires. I don’t need protection.”

“I don’t know why you would say that, but, as long as you’re under my care, yes, you need protection.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so, and big brothers are always right,” Dean said smugly.

“Jerk.”

“Bitch, and you know I’m right.”

Sam gave him a bitch-face and went to his room, leaving the teen alone at the living-room.

Dean watched him go and rushed out of the house, stopping on his rails.

Everywhere he looked there were people carrying bricks or logs, people who helped rebuilding houses. Most houses were already complete, but you could still see that the city was ruined. The ground was ashen and big piles of garbage were scattered around the place. Small groups of people were sitting around small fires, some with women and children and some with only men cheering together with bottles of water and talking to kids who sat by them, some even hugging them.

“What the hell happened?” Dean breathed, his chest tightening and his sight getting blurry with tears.

He sat on the steps with shaky legs, the sight before him shaking him to the core. For him, just several days ago, he took Cas and his brother to a fantastical trip, leaving behind them the beautiful city of Lawrence. Then he wakes up and finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world with the world in ruins.

Who’s the bastard who did that? He’ll kill him with his own hands! He swore, his hands shaking. He’ll kill that son of a bitch who ruined his life and his family. Who dared ruin those people’s homes and families?

He looked up again and scanned the familiar yet unfamiliar place, feeling his chest tighten with every child and adult coming around the corner with tired faces and dirty bodies.

If he only could do something about that, he thought. If only he could remember what happened during the month before he woke up.

“You can if you want, I can help with that.” Dean's head snapped back to see a beautiful woman with red hair and fair skin. She had her eyes closed as she sat down with a motherly smile.

“Who are you?” He snapped at her, feeling dread wash him.

“My name is Anna, and I know what you’ve done, Dean Winchester.”

“How do you know my name? And what do you mean? What have I done?”

Anna smiled warmly and pressed two fingers to his forehead, and suddenly flashes and pictures flashed through his eyes and everything came back to him.

His body went to shock as his eyes bulged from his sockets. Anna patted his hair, “See? This is what you’ve done, Daniel.”

“I… I’m the one who… I did that to them…” Dean choked, his body shaking furiously.

Anna nodded. “It’s the fusion of two archangels with a human soul. While grace and souls live from goodness, the fusion lives from the darkness of the human’s soul to keep itself together. But unfortunately, that caused what you see around you.”

“I... I’m a monster…”

“You’re a supernatural being. So yes, you’re in a sense, a monster.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” Dean snapped from his daze and slapped the fingers still attached to his forehead.

“Because that is the final punishment for the traitors – to see the world around them perish because of their foolishness. I once tried to disobey, but I’d learned my mistake,” she opened her eyes and Dean saw two black holes instead of eyes balls and felt the need to vomit. She smiled reassuringly and closed her eyes. “Don’t worry, Dean. I do not feel like them no matter what they had done to me.”

Dean narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, but then nodded. “How do you suppose to ‘save’ the world? Whatever is left of it anyway?”

“We can reverse the affects of the fusion by a simple ritual,” Anna answered.

“Why do I sense a ‘but’ here?” He eyed her.

“No ‘but’, it’s really simple indeed. You just need the blood of the traitors and Lucifer’s vessel. Then you use that blood to wash the source of the fusion and say some words and everything goes back to normal.”

Dean blanched. “By blood, do you mean…?”

“I mean that we need to kill the three of you,” Anna nodded nonchalantly.

Dean growled and grabbed her shirt’s collar. “No way am I doing this shit, then. You can take as much of blood you want from me. But  **no way**  you get to my brother  _or_  Cas. This world can go to hell for all I care.”

“I see… then I’m afraid then I’ll have to use force. I’m sorry for that, Dean,” Anna said with grim face.

Before Dean could protest, she pressed two fingers to his forehead and everything went dark. His last thought was, ‘Shit, not again…’

* * *

 

“Anyone seen Dean?” Sam asked the duo sitting by the table, looking worried as him.

“No, I just woke up,” Castiel admitted.

“Same here,” Chuck added.

“Where is he then?” Sam cried.

“With Anna, I’m afraid,” Gabriel appeared behind Sam, making him jump in his chair.

Sam held his chest and glared at the angel, “Would you ever learn  **not to give a heart attack** to me?”

Gabriel ignored him and Sam noticed his face looking tense and quieted down. “What’s going on, Gabe?”

“It’s that stupid bitch. She took Dean-o and she’s coming for the both of you.”

“Why?” the three of them stood up abruptly.

“To practice the reverse ritual. Using the blood of the traitors and the fallen Lucifer to wash the source of the fusion, she can reverse everything that had happened that day.”

“Let me guess, it’d kill us.”

“Yep.”

“Shit,” Castiel swore. “We have to get to him right now.”

“Not so fast, Cassie.”

Castiel growled at him, “She probably is hurting Dean right now. We can’t let her hold him for another moment.”

“She won’t touch him until the time of the ritual is near. We have to hurry, though. She’ll come for you and Sammy to be able to start the ritual.”

“What do we have to do?”

“Just come with me and I’ll distract her until you two get Dean-o away.”

Sam and Castiel nodded and Gabriel sighed, “May father will be with us.”

“Amen…”

Gabriel rolled his eyes, smiling sadly and snapped his fingers.

* * *

 

Dean groaned when his awareness came back to him. All his body was numb and stiff from sleeping on stone. He sat up and looked around him.

“What the hell happened…?” He murmured and jumped when Anna appeared before him.

“Oh, you’re awake,” She sounded astonished. “I didn’t expect the angel blood to work this well in a broken body.”

“You know I can hear every word you say, you bitch,” He snarled at her, remembering everything from before fainting. “I won’t let you hurt my family.  **No one**  will hurt them, ever again!”

“Your body is already going against you because of your angel blood,” She mused. “There is nothing you can actually do, Dean.”

“Yeah?” He smirked. “We’ll see about that, you dick,” He said coldly and his body lit faintly, small waves of wind rippling around him.

“Even if you can work a small trick, how long can you keep that up?” She laughed and Dean narrowed his eyes, an angel blade appearing in his hand.

“Long enough,” He nonchalantly replied and stuck the blade into her stomach with blazing eyes.

She looked at him with such pity in her face that he had to take two steps back. She stood up and yanked the blade out. “Such a weak blade won’t harm me, abomination. I’d waited long enough,” She muttered and walked toward Dean, who felt the danger and tried to walk away from her.

She raised her hand, about to strike when a flash of light appeared and Gabriel’s voice shouted ‘Now!’ before two sets of arms grabbed Dean and pulled him into the light.

Anna now stood before Gabriel, her red hair flowing behind her in a predatory fashion, “Hello, brother.”

The archangel stood before her. His childish body rippled and turned into an adult body with the same features. “I would have said the same thing, dear sister, only… I had never lied to you before, have I?”

She looked at him with sadness. “You never did, Gabriel. But you know as well as I do that what I do is for the benefit of humanity. You have to help me capture those responsible to this massacre and reverse  _everything_.”

“You seem to forget something important, sis,” Gabriel rolled his eyes, already bored. “ _You_  are the one responsible for this massacre. You, Raphael, Zachariah, and all of the other angels who were against their love. What was so wrong with them being together in the first place?”

“It wasn’t natural. They had a child, that abomination Michael,” Anna growled, her calm stature melting away, leaving away a fierce fighter, thirsty for blood.

“Who was an angel for anything. They didn’t even know that their graces had joined and created him. They always thought of him as family, but not as blood-relative. You’d ruined a family, Anna, and that has come back to bite you in the ass,” Gabriel growled and charged.

“Dean? Are you okay?” Castiel asked when they had appeared a mile away from the place.

“I-I’m fine…” Dean’s body ached everywhere. He felt like wanting to sleep forever, “I’m just so tired and sick of all those psychos coming after us… what about you two?”

“We’re fine,” Castiel smiled at him, a bit confused.

“Dean,” Sam breathed. “How much do you remember?”

Dean hung his head down. “Everything, Sammy… I remember everything… everything I had done, all the people I’d killed, the families I’d ruined-”

“Dean, you didn’t know that the fusion would cause this kind of backlash,” Castiel grabbed his shoulders. “Gabriel was the only one to know about the costs of the fusion. Even Daniel and Michael never knew about it.”

“But I’d agreed to do it… I killed Daniel and Michael. Michael was just a baby in my body… I’d killed a baby,” Dean shook. His fists clenched tight until his knuckles became white and clenched his teeth. “If it was only my blood, I would have gladly given it to reverse everything. But I can’t… I can’t let them take my family… even now, I’m so selfish… I’m so sorry, Cas.”

“Dean?” Said teen looked at him. “Would you please shut up? You’re annoying,” Castiel cupped Dean’s face and pulled him unto a deep kiss.

Dean made a surprised squeak, but then melted into the kiss and hugged him tightly.

“I missed you so much, Dean,” Castiel drew back with teary eyes. “Don’t you dare to even  _think_  of leaving me again like that, you assbutt.”

Dean half-cried half-laughed as he pulled Castiel into another kiss, not wanting to part from his love anymore.

Sam tried to look away, but when the sounds became too much, he cleared his voice and watched in amusement at the red faces he received and the glare from certain blue eyes.

“We need to move. So if you two lovebirds finished smooching, can we move? I think I’m going to have nightmares for a while…”

Dean chuckled and Castiel smiled fondly, taking his friend’s hand and leading him out of the place.

“Do you think Gabriel is okay?” Castiel asked.

“He’s fine,” Sam smiled. “He’s my guardian-angel after all.”

“And is doing a crappy job at that,” Dean grumbled. “You should have stayed home.”

Sam frowned. “Dean, she would have gone after me if I had stayed. Its better we all stick together, okay?”

Dean huffed, hating the fact that his brother was right. “Whatever, bitch.”

Castiel rolled his eyes, grasping the brothers’ shirts and dragging them to a vehicle. “We need to move now, before that witch will come again.”

“She’s an angel, Cas,” Dean said amusingly and pushed by him to get to the driver’s seat, ignoring the other’s glare.

“Well, she acts a lot like a witch,” Sam piped as he sat on the back seat.

Castiel sat shotgun and laced his fingers with Dean, not wanting to part with his friend if he can help it. Dean beamed at him and with their joined hands started the car, the key thankfully was already in the hole and shifted the gear to drive.

But no matter how much he stepped on the gas, the car didn’t drive. The trio exchanged worried glances. Dean turned off the car and stepped out to check the problem with his heart pounding in his chest furiously with nerves.

Castiel and Sam exited the car as well and stood behind Dean in a protective gesture and took out a silver blade Gabriel gave them, knowing that Anna would try to grab them again as well.

“Never thought Gabriel would take the bait.” They turned to see Anna standing in front of their car with big bronze wings on her back. She wore casual clothes, a bluish-gray shirt with a jumper on top and jeans on her legs. But her eyes were open with balls of light filling the empty sockets and her bright-red hair flipped around behind her. Her body shone and swirls of small flames formed around her.

“What did you do to Gabe?” Sam cried out and if Dean hadn’t stopped him, he would have tried to attack her foolishly.

“Nothing, I won’t harm my brothers. He’s simply fighting a fake Anna,” She took out a long jagged knife. “I’m sorry it had come down to it and that you children had been dragged to this war.”

“Don’t act as if you were the saint in this war,” Dean bristled. “All of you dickheads are responsible for what had happened. It’s  _your_  fault that Daniel, Castiel and Michael ended up in our bodies.  It was  _your_  fault that Lucifer got out. If you dicks would have thought about humanity instead of  _your_  worthless asses,  _we_  would have  _not_  been here, talking to a bitch.”

Anna seemed offended by that, but instead of saying anything, she waved her hand and flames circled the trio, trapping them in an instant.

“Shit,” Dean cursed and grimaced when his body moved again, making him feel like many needles pinched his skin.

“You don’t have much time, Dean Winchester,” Anna said calmly. “I can just sit down and wait until your body breaks apart because of the grace and then get the blood I need.”

Castiel and Sam looked at Dean, who looked alarmed and tried to avoid their eyes. “So?” He turned to look at her, “I can still roast you with Gabe’s sword.”

He took from Castiel Gabriel’s sword and pointed it at her. “Come here, you bitch. You come here with all your stupid mojo and look all mighty and strong in front of three children who can’t even break a friggin' table. How does that make you feel? Strong? Righteous?” He said sarcastically and Anna scowled, the flames growing hotter.

“You do not belittle an angel, human,” She growled. “We are god’s soldiers and we are to carry his plans.”

“Yeah, his  ** _Grand_**  plan to kill three harmless kids that two of them just happened to be in the wrong time and wrong family,” Dean growled, ignoring Sam’s protests.

Anna looked very frightening right now, her face a mask of holy rage and the light around her body intensified ten-fold. “You. Do. Not. Mock. My Father’s name in my presence.”

“Oh? Did I hurt your feeling?” Dean mocked with a fake concerned tone lacing his words, “‘Cuz I’m sure that that douche bag didn’t think twice of hurting  _mine_ , or any of my family’s members’, if we are already on that subject.”.

Anna zapped in front of him, her face a few millimeters from his. “You know nothing of my father’s plans. You won’t blaspheme him anymore, you arrogant brat.”

“Don’t touch him,” Castiel yanked Gabriel’s sword from Dean’s hands and swung the sword at her. Anna caught the blade and yanked it out of Castiel’s hold and threw it to the side. Sam pulled Dean away when Castiel glowed brightly, taking out another sword.

“Learned to use your gift? Would be interesting,” Anna snorted and stepped outside the fire ring.

Castiel swung his sword over the fire, and a swirl of water came and extinguished the fire. He charged at Anna and Sam struggled to get his protesting brother away from the fight.

“No, Cas! Get back here! CAS!” Dean cried, his body like lead pulling him to the ground. He tried to pry himself from his brother. “Let me go, Sam! I need to help him!”

“You’re no help to anyone dead, Dean!” Sam shouted, biting his lower lip from crying. “You’re too weak to even stand properly, you can’t fight her!”

Dean froze at his brother’s words and slumped down. So he’s weak… he’s probably worthless as well. The dark feeling he had in his chest this whole time grew bigger and two dark orbs pulsed in him. Pieces of his angel blood fused with the dark graces and Dean fell into a deeper depression, feeding the fusion.

“Dean?” Sam saw Dean’s face darken and stopped pulling him instinctively. “What’s wrong?”

Dean couldn’t hear him though, because the dark orbs mixed in his blood whispered into his conscious.  ** _You’re weak, Dean Winchester. You can’t protect your family. Look what you have done to this world. You can’t save anyone… worthless, abomination, weak-_**  
”No,” Dean mumbled. “Stop it,” He covered his ears with his palms and fell on his knees. “STOP IT!”

“DEAN!” Sam cried, holding his brother’s shoulders. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?  **Answer me!**  DEAN!”

* * *

 

Anna was going easy on him, Castiel knew that. She was waiting for him to get tired to just flip her hand and knock him unconscious.

She was nonchalantly walking when he charged and when he used water to stop her fire, only then she would have to move faster, but it exhausted him and he was getting sluggish.

Sam’s scream made them both stop and turn toward the noise. Anna looked thoughtful. “Seems like the time has come.”

Castiel looked at her with rage blazing in his eyes. “What did you do to them?”

“Nothing,” She smiled. “Just that Dean has finally broke down. I’m surprised he even lasted this long, maybe the fact that he had lost his memory had helped.”

“What happened to him?” Castiel felt dread clench his heart.

“The fusion uses the dark emotions of the human soul. So broken, little, innocent children are like a sugar pump to it. It uses Dean’s dark feelings and the graces of Michael and Daniel to use Dean’s body as a vessel.”

“A vessel for what?” Daniel and Michael are still alive?!

“For what you’ve witnessed before – a bomb to destroy the world – each time Dean will stop the bomb, the fusion will attack him again to try and break him again and use that as a fuel for another bomb. You can’t stop it no matter what. That’s why I have to do the ritual, now you understand? We don’t have time to fight, we need to kill him right now.”

Castiel wasn’t listening to her half of her speech, creeping up to her instead and the minute she finished, he plunged the sword into her chest.

She let out a banshee-like shriek. Her body and eyes glowed bright before fading and her body fell to the ground, two prints of ashen wings adorning the ground on both sides of her chest, memoirs for her former glorious wings.

Castiel stood over her body, panting with his bloody sword in his hands. The adrenaline and angel blood in his body made him smirk and look at the dripping sword with pride. He just killed an angel. A dark pleasure filled him but another scream made him snap back to himself and his eyes grew in horror at the bloody sword and he threw it away from him with disgust, wiping his hands on the shirt and turning away to run toward Dean and Sam.


	21. Mara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am starting to notice how awfully cliche and repetitive this story is and i am so happy i can be done with it. i am so sorry for this stupidity.

"Dean, Dean!" Sam shook his unresponsive brother frantically. "Answer me, Dean!"

Dean was drowning in his own mind, the fusion growing stronger and more tempting.  ** _You can stop this, Dean Winchester. You can stop this foolish existence of yours, kid. I can make all your wishes come true. Your family doesn't need you, they never did. I can erase you. All you need to do is say 'yes'._**

"N-no," He said, his body shaking with the strain of fighting the fusion's tempting voice. "I-I'm not l-letting you r-ruin this p-place again."

"Dean?" Sam, sick of worrying and gnawing on his nails, slapped Dean across the face, "Snap out of it, Dean!"

**_See? Even your little brother doesn't want you. Who hits his brother anyway?_ **

"H-he doesn't m-mean it," Dean's resolve was crumbling down.

**_Oh? So you ever played 'hit the weak big brother'? I didn't think so-_ **

"Shut up…"

**_You know I'm right. After all, big brothers are always right. Oh, I forget, you killed us-_ **

"Shut up!"

**_Why? Are you going to kill me again just to shut me up? You did it, you know-_ **

"I-I did not!"

**_Maybe, but you did wish for all this stupid war to stop and killed us to survive the aftermath. Can't you see all the misery you had caused? Castiel killed himself to be with the one he loves that_ ** **you _killed, mind you._**

"I-I never meant t-to-"

**_To what? Get them killed? Ruin the world? Face it, Dean Winchester, you're a disappointment_ ** **and _worthless. You're better off dead, so what if the world goes with it? It's not like they are worth saving as well. I'm the only one who wants you. So what do you say?_**

"N-no."

**_Cheeky much, I see. Let's see what we can do about that..._ **

Suddenly, waves of pain hit him again and again, swallowing him down. Dean screamed at the pain and curled into himself, trying to stop the pain.

"Dean!" Sam held him. "What's going on? Answer me!"

"It hurts…" Dean cried between breaths and Sam hugged him tightly.

"Don't worry, big brother. I love you, so please fight whatever it is you're fighting, don't let it win."

"O-okay, S-Sammy," Dean tried to smile, but another wave of pain, stronger this time, made him scream again. He gasped. "C-Cas…"

"Cas is fighting Anna to protect us from her, so don't worry," Sam said with a grimace at his brother's agony.

"D-don't let h-him g-get k-killed, h-he's a-all I-I have l-left b-besides y-you," Dean cried, hot tears trailing down his cheeks as the pain grew stronger.

"He won't, Dean. Have some faith in him, jerk," Sam tried to smile, but it was failing and he held his brother tighter, wishing he knew how to use his abilities to help his brother.

It's not fair, he thought, I have powers and I can't use them when I most need them, where the hell is the logic in that? God, Castiel, anyone, help Dean,  _please!_

* * *

Castiel rushed to where he heard the second scream, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. What if he's too late? What if Dean had already succumbed to the fusion?

He shook his head. No, he can't think that way. Dean is strong, he can fight this thing.

He reached Sam and saw him holding a struggling Dean tightly with tears falling from his eyes.

"Dean?" He rushed to them and took Dean in his arms.

"C-Cas?" Dean gasped in a pained whisper, his mind too blurred from pain to fully recognize the voice.

"Oh, Dean," Castiel rasped and held him tighter, his body glowing and trying to find a way to help his friend. "I'm so sorry. I love you so much, so no giving up on me."

"W-why is e-everybody th-think I-I'm g-gonna g-give u-up?" Dean gave out a shaky laugh, then shrieked with another wave of pain hitting him. "It hurts…"

"Shh… I know, I know, but you have to stay strong for me, my love," Castiel kissed his burning forehead.

"K-kill me," Dean choked out and the duo blanched.

"What are you talking about?!" They both screamed.

Dean shook his head, well… as much as he could with the agony. "I-it's th-the only w-way, k-kill m-me."

"No way! Not after finally getting you back to me," Castiel cried out and buried his face in his friend's shoulder. "I'm not giving up on you, NEVER!"

"I-I c-can't f-fight h-him an-any lo-longer."

"Yes, you can and you-"

"IT HURTS!" Dean suddenly screamed. "WHY NO ONE UNDERSTANDS?!"

Black wind threw Castiel and Sam away from Dean. They landed on the ground a few meters away with startled groans.

"DEAN!" They cried when Dean screamed and two enormous black wings erupted from his back and curled around him, turning fast to an orb familiar to the white one before. They scurried to him and Castiel took out his angel sword.

"What are you doing?!" Sam cried when he attacked the dark thing.

"Trying to release him!" He answered and slashed the dark orb, trying to ignore the agonized shrieks from under the feathers.

"Wait for me, Dean," He murmured and used some of the angel blood to strengthen his last attack, and the orb cracked open and the base of the wings split open and fell onto the ground.

Dean was lying on the ground between the ripped wings, motionless.

"No, no, no, no…" Castiel fell to the ground by the teen's body with wet eyes. He reached a shaky hand to touch Dean's mouth and muffled a sob when he didn't feel any breathe.

"Dean?" Sam's scared whisper made him turn to see the child look as if death had stormed in. The pre-teen cupped Dean's face and started sobbing when he felt the cold body. "Don't die…  _please_ … I can't live without you. You can't abandon me, big brother. I love you… don't die!"

Castiel gathered the fragile body in his arms and placed the head on the crook of his neck, "Hey, Dean? Don't do it to us… we need you." He choked and brushed his thumb over Dean's cheek, "Oh, god, it's all my fault. I'm so sorry, Dean. I only tried to save you, I'm so sorry. I love you, Dean… don't leave me again… I'm so sorry…"

When he got no response, he shifted the body to cup Dean's face and brushed his lips over Dean's. "Dean? Wake up, my love. Please open those beautiful eyes you have, don't leave me alone." Hot tears fell quickly down his cheeks and he pressed his lips hard to Dean's, trying to coax his friend to respond.

"Cas… I-I think i-it's too late," Sam was crying and held to Castiel's bloodied shirt. "It's enough, Cas… he won't come back… not this time…"

"Don't say that!" Castiel shouted at him, holding Dean tighter to him, refusing to let go.

"I have to!" Sam shouted back. "If I won't, I'll break as well! Dean is DEAD!" He buried his face in his arms and burst out crying loudly.

Castiel brought one arm and pulled Sam to a hug and the pre-teen clung to his cold brother, crying loudly and shouting at his brother to wake up.

A swish of feathers made them look up and see Gabriel land by them, a solemn look on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Castiel," He said with a bowed head.

Castiel looked at him with wet eyes and a sneer. "You knew, didn't you?"

"Yes, I knew," The archangel nodded.

"How could you?" He said accusingly and the angel flinched.

"Cas…" Sam seemed scared. "Shut up..."

"It's all those dick angels' fault! If you hadn't left us alone Dean would have not died!" Castiel shouted angrily. He dipped his head in Dean's neck, sobbing uncontrollably. "I just want him back. I just want my Dean back, why does everyone try to stop us?!"

"Cas, SHUT UP!" Sam shouted and Castiel clamped his mouth shut in shock. Sam pointed at the still body in his hands shakily, "Look…"

Castiel looked down and his eyes grew wide when both of their bodies were covered with faint glow. He looked up to Gabriel warily. "What did you do?"

"Nothing, it's like your angel bloods… react to each other," Gabriel muttered with awe. He looked at Castiel with a smirk smeared on his lips. "Did you and Dean-o did… the deed?"

Castiel turned bright red. "Y-yes…?"

Gabriel laughed. "Oh father, I'm so proud of you, little brother."

Castiel scoffed. "I'm not your brother, Gabriel."

"Can we focus?" Sam snapped his fingers in front of their faces and the duo quieted down.

Gabriel's face turned deadly. "Were they hand prints on your body?!"

"H-how did you…?" Castiel started.

"Quick, uncover them!" Gabriel interrupted him.

Castiel nodded and took his and Dean's shirt off, uncovering the bright red hand prints, which were glowing brighter than the rest of their bodies.

"What the…?" Sam asked with a socked gaze.

"It's the soul connection between you two," Gabriel said, relief evident in his voice. "You can still save him, you lucky dog."

"Really?" Both humans perked up.

"Yes," Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Now shut up and place your hand over that print, NOW!"

"Okay," Castiel complied and placed his hand gingerly on the red patch, feeling intense heat under his hand.

"He's burning," Castiel said, grinning widely in disbelief.

"Good, means he's still alive. Place his hand over yours."

Castiel nodded and brought Dean's hand to cover his, feeling shivers go down his spine in anticipation at the burning feeling he felt from Dean's hand.

"Close your eyes and concentrate. You need to find his soul under all this gooey stuff that the fusion made to lock him down. You don't have a lot of time, he's fading fast."

Castiel wasn't listening to him, his eyes already closed.

* * *

Castiel opened his eyes and had found himself standing on a small island, surrounded by a dark sea. He almost stumbled on his step, but managed to recollect himself on time and sat down, peering cautiously at the dark water.

"Dean?" He shouted. Only echoes of his own voice answered him. "DEAN!"

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A head surfaced from the water. It was something that looked like Dean, but had bright yellow eyes and his hair was pitch black.

"Who are  _you_?" Castiel snarled. "What did you do to Dean?"

"Oh, you mean the righteous man," Not-Dean said with amusement. "Or righteous teen, if you want to be specific."

"Who are you?"

"Name's Mara," Not-Dean shrugged. "Or Fusion, if you don't want to be original."

"What do you want from Dean?" Castiel bit his lip from shouting in frustration. "Leave Dean alone and go inhabit someone else's body."

"And leave this marvelous body? Nah-uh," Mara clicked his tongue. "This boy's mind is so delicious. All the suffering, the repressed feeling, the self-loathing," He moaned, "They're just like the best honey I'd ever tasted."

"Get out of him!"

"What are you gonna do about it?" The fusion huffed in amusement, stretching his neck and rising higher from the water, his bare chest showing up, pale as sheet and streaked with bright red veins. "Kill me? Torture me?" He rolled his eyes, "Come on, you are powerless and I'm gonna get my little toy soon,  _all_  for myself," He grinned seductively.

Castiel snarled in disgust. "Tell me where he is."

"Now why should I?" Mara rose higher to cup the teen's face. He licked his lips, "You're a very handsome human, no wonder this boy is so attracted to you. Wanna be mine? I'll treat you well."

"Get your disgusting hands off of me," Castiel slapped the hand away and rubbed his jaw, shuddering in disgust. "Just tell me where is Dean, or I'll seriously kill you," His body grew brighter and the slightest sliver of fear flashed through the fusion's yellow eyes.

"Of course, you're an angel as well. I'm just not a lucky duck lately," The fusion sighed and plunged back into the water, leaving Castiel alone in the darkness.

 ** _I'm going to have him all to myself, and you can't do anything about that, foolish angel_** , the voice of Mara laughed in the empty space.

Castiel gritted his teeth. "No, you're not."

He closed his eyes and two big wings erupted from his back. He looked at them with satisfaction. "It seems that the imagination of humans is strong in those kinds of places."

He looked forward, toward the swallowing darkness, and smiled. "I'm coming for you, Dean." He shot out from the island and plunged himself into the darkness.

* * *

He was sitting on a chair in a cozy bedroom. His head was lolled to the side and his lifeless eyes were looking up to the ceiling. Heavy cuffs pinned his hands to the armrests and his legs to the front legs of the chair.

Mara swiftly entered the room, black smoke rising from his every step. He took one look at Dean and smiled darkly, approaching him.

"Hello, my dear vessel," He rested one hand over Dean's and the other cupped the teen's face, turning it to face him. "You look so beautiful, as usual," He brushed his thumb over the plump lips. "You make me want to ruin you."

Dead eyes stared at him and he smirked, brushing his lips over Dean's. "You know who I saw by the shore today? Your little lover… Castiel, was it?"

Fear and hope flashed through the dead eyes and Mara frowned. "Oh? So you ignore me, but when I mention that human, you try to oppose me again?"

The dead eyes looked at him with anger and the fusion reeled with rage himself. "I see how it is. Maybe I should just kill the little brat to finally break you down completely?"

"Leave… him… alone…" Dean croaked and gasped when the fusion grasped his neck, crushing it with his hands.

"You're mine, Dean Winchester, and I'm not going to let any stupid angel-vessel take you away."

"C-Cas…" Dean rasped.

"No, you're not calling him," Mara squeezed tighter and the teen tried to breathe and glared at him before blacking out.

The fusion panted and released the bruised neck and brushed the bruises gingerly. "If you only surrendered to me."

His eyes flashed dark and he stood up. "I'm going to kill you, Castiel. Once and for all."

* * *

It felt like he was flying for hours, is there even land somewhere?

"I feel like the stupid knight in those fairy-tales mother used to read me," Castiel swallowed a choked laugh. "Wonder what Dean would say about being the damsel in distress… just be safe, Dean." A pearly tear fell from his eyes to the water under him and the water seemed to glow lighter.

Castiel stopped his flight and looked at the place where the tear fell, from which a wave of a lighter black spread over the dark water. He pinched himself and tried to make himself cry harder. And with every tear that fell from his eyes, the water became lighter and lighter, until it was emerald-green, like Dean's eyes.

He almost laughed at how cliche it was. Tears? Really?

The teen floated closer to the surface and caught some pictures flashing over the water. Dean's birth. Mary singing 'Hey Jude'. First birthday. Sam's birth. Sam's first word, which was 'De', by the way. Sam walking. Sam… Sam… Sam… Sam… Sam… Castiel… Castiel… wait…

Exchanging notes in their first class together. Going to Karen's house. The trip to the lake. Their first kiss.

Genuine tears fell in rivers from his eyes as he covered his mouth to muffle his sobs. "Dean…"

Then the water turned dark-blue and different kind of pictures flashed through the water. The fire. Sam's first injury. John's getting drunk and yelling at his eldest. Being called worthless, stupid, disappointment. John's death. Sam being attacked. Alistair. Castiel being kidnapped and the phone-call from Zachariah. The ritual to bring Daniel forth. Hospitals. The plan to stop Lucifer. The fusion and the semi-destruction of the world. The fusion trying to make him say 'yes'…

Castiel screamed as pain attacked him and tried to out-flow it, but he felt it with every inch of his body, as if his body was going up in flames.

"DEAN!" He cried and fell into the water. His wings disappearing and leaving him struggling for air as the water tried to swallow him whole.

 ** _You're not getting through, angel_** , the fusion said.

"Yes-I-will!" Castiel gasped and the water yanked him in and swallowed him fully.

_Dean…_

* * *

When he woke up, he blinked in surprise. He expected to see dark water around him but found himself standing in a hall which seemed to fit into a palace, not a teen's mind, not that he complained.

He looked behind him, the hall was deserted but sudden foot-steps made him turn around, but he saw nothing.

He followed the footsteps and came to a slightly open door. He touched the door, feeling the smooth oak wooden door and pushed it open.

A king-sized bed was in the middle of a giant bedroom with a frail woman lying on it with her gaze out of the window, a big bundle on her lap.

" _Mama?_ " The woman looked down and the bundle shifted, revealing a familiar child with a big smile.

" _Yes, Dear?_ " The woman had long wavy blond hair and soft but tired green eyes. She smiled warmly at the child and ruffled his hair. Only then it was that Castiel realized that they were speaking in Italian. But for some strange reason, he was able to understand them.

" _Can you tell me the story of the angels again?_ "

" _I told you this story many times already, Michael_ ," The woman said, amused.

The child pouted. " _Please, Mama? I promise to listen to Martha tomorrow_."

The woman sighed playfully and shrugged. " _Oh, alright…_

_A long time ago, there were angels walking among us, guarding us._

_Now, those angels couldn't feel any emotions because of how they were created. But despite the odds, two angels fell in love with each other and combining their grace, they had created another angel._ "

" _Daniel, Castiel and Michael!_ " the child cheered. " _I was named after Michael, right?_ "

The woman chuckled. " _You're very clever, dear. Now, these three angels lived in peace with the humans and lived happily for many years._

 _But there was one angel, who was envious of the rare love those two had and wanted to destroy that. So he arrested these three angels and brought them to the jury, who was biased as well and only wanted to see them perish._ "

" _But god didn't let them, right?_ "

" _No, he didn't. But he had to give them a very important mission. He placed each of them in a different human so they could be protected until the right time will come so no angel or demon would find them and destroy them._

 _And now, for many millenniums, those angels are traveling down each one for one blood-line until the day they would be needed-_ "

" _And save the world from the evil Lucifer!_ " The kid burst into her sentence with a cheer. But then he turned solemn. " _Mama… I want Daniel and Castiel together. I want them to be able to find each other again…_ " Tears fell from his eyes.

His mother kissed his hair and held him close. " _I know, son. I know…_ "

" _It's not fair for them… why can't angels love?_ " The child sniffled.

" _I don't know… shh, come on, it's time for bed and you need to wake up early tomorrow._ " She started rocking him back and forth, singing to him.

The kid seemed to get drowsy and yawned loudly before blinking sleepily. " _Goodnight, Mama,_ " The kid fell asleep in his mother's arms.

The woman sighed and the door behind Castiel opened again, this time a tall man walked inside with a soft smile adorning his face.

" _Darling,_ " She said with a relieved laugh. " _You scared me._ "

" _I'm sorry, Ma'am,_ " The man joked. He sat on the bed and brought some of her hair to kiss it. " _Is my little boy asleep?_ "

" _Deeply. He sure loves that story,_ " The woman said sadly.

The man looked at her, " _Well, it's our duty to keep Daniel the archangel safe. I would be worried if he didn't like the story._ "

" _When shall we tell him?_ "

" _When I'm close to my deathbed_."

Castiel inched closer to the family he now suspected were Dean's ancestors. So Dean's a royalty, he mused, now that's a surprise. He looked closer at Michael and was shocked to see Dean's resemblance to the child.

Quick footsteps alerted him to another toddler stumbling on his feet to get to the bed. The adults laughed and the man picked the toddler and placed him by Michael.

" _Here's our little James,_ " The woman chuckled. " _You would think he's Michael's brother._ "

"With how he loves him? I doubt it. It's more like adoration… the lords are not going to like that," The man sighed and the woman frowned.

" _They are babies, darling, it's too early to decide. Besides, w_ _ho cares? If two angels can love each other, why not two boys?_ "

Castiel smiled, glad that those parents weren't so close-minded, but something about the toddler bothered him.

James yawned and snuggled to Michael's chest and suddenly it dawned on Castiel – the toddler looked like him.

He took a step back with shock. If his and Dean's blood-lines knew each other back then, how did they get separated? Do they even know that James is from the Castiel's line?

The answer came quite quickly. At the dead of the night, the window silently moved and a dark figure entered the room.

Castiel watched with dread, knowing he can't change the past, as the man hovered over the sleeping woman with Michael and James in her lap.

"No, no, no…" Castiel watched in terror as the man picked Michael up.

" ** _That boy is mine,_** " The man jumped from the window into the night.

* * *

Castiel watched with sadness as Michael grew in Britain's slums, all childishness and happiness gone and replaced with maturity and hatred. Michael was a blacksmith assistant, earning close to nothing, but he was a singer as well and performed many times at the local bars, earning a bit more.

One day, he went back to his breaking down cabin. Castiel spotted the man who kidnapped Michael all those years ago and felt his rage bubble inside of him but the blond didn't recognize the man and just greeted him politely.

"Good afternoon to you, Young man," The kidnapper said with a friendly smile.

"Good afternoon, mister. What do you need?" The Italian accent was still evident in Michael's tone, although now he was speaking English.

"Just company, lad."

Michael rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright, you can sit there. I'll be back soon," He rushed into his house and moments later came out with a bottle of bear and a plate of bread. The kidnapper smiled at Michael and silently ate the meal.

"Now, I'm sure you didn't come here only for my food, so spill," Michael spat warily. "I don't have time to waste on your bloody money-huggers."

"I want to tell you a story," The man said and Castiel tried to strangle him, only to have his hands pass through the man.

"Do tell."

The man told him the exact same story as the woman did, only he added at the end, "And do you want to know if it's true?"

"Most likely not."

"Actually," The man's eyes flashed black and Castiel blanched, it was Alistair. "Yes, it's true, and you're the evidence for that."

"You're bluffing, I'm no angel," Michael snorted, rolling his eyes, obviously thinking that the man has lost his marbles. "Did I give you too much to drink, sire? Because I think you should go home and leave me the bloody hell alone."

"I don't think you understand, Michael Campbell, you're Daniel and the one I've been looking for millenniums."

Michael blanched. "How do you know my name?" He stood up and took out a sword, "If you don't tell me  **right now**  who are you, I'm going to bloody murder you!"

The man stood up as well, his eyes flashing black again. "My name's Alistair, a demon of tortures and I've been looking for you, Daniel."

"My name's Michael, you git." Michael backed away, his eyes subconsciously glowing bright green.

Alistair charged and Michael jumped to the side and thrust the sword at the demon, only to have it break on contact. Michael looked at it with shock before jumping again away from the demon. Alistair sighed and waved his hand, pinning Michael to the wall.

The young man struggled in his place. "What did you do?!"

"Not letting you escape, that is," Alistair purred and brushed the young man's long blond hair to the side. Michael growled and instantly, Castiel's whole sight turned white.

* * *

When the light faded, he had found himself at the hall again. He leaned on the wall and the flashes passing before his eyes again made his head pound with pain.

Why did he see that vision?

"That was one of the times you and Dean had met as reincarnations," A familiar voice startled him and he turned to see Daniel standing behind him,

"Daniel, you're alive?!" He cried in happiness and hugged the angel tightly.

"No, I'm not," Daniel sighed. Castiel looked at him in perplex, "What do you mean?"

"Mara is the demon of soul corruption and treachery, you could say. He was created at the incident of the two archangels' fusion back at the dinosaurs' destruction. Using the lingering concentrated darkness from the humans' souls and the angels' darkness from the treachery to create himself. He trapped some of my and Michael's graces to fuel the explosion. We were dipped with so many negative emotions we couldn't escape until you shed the first tear of compassion on the water of selfishness."

"It was a prison?!"

"Kind of… you released Michael and me. So now we need to release Dean from Mara. He searched through his soul and took this setting from his favorite reincarnation."

"So Dean and I knew each other before this life?" Castiel said in awe. "How come we never been together then?"

"Because someone always separated the two of you, as you could see. You've been together for a short time for about six times before now. Each time we were in a body with your soul, we knew because it was only then that we could use a fragment of our powers, unlike the other times. This one was during the sixteenth century in Italy. But it's not the time to talk about the past."

"Oh right… but how can we save Dean?"

"Follow me." Daniel started walking toward the same way Castiel walked to before.

"Mara likes to know where this soul used to spend his happiest times so he would be able to corrupt them and break Dean even further. Dean had closed himself inside his mind so he wouldn't be affected by Mara's attempts."

"We have to hurry up, then!" Castiel pulled Daniel with him and dragged him toward the room where he met Michael, or Dean.

"Be careful," Daniel said when they reached the thick oak-wooden door. "Who knows what Mara had put in the room."

"I don't care," Castiel slammed the door open and covered his mouth to not let a cry out of his mouth. He rushed to the chair, where Dean was chained to, and cupped the teen's face.

"Dean?" He asked hesitantly. "Can you hear me?"

He turned to Daniel. "Can you help me release him?"

Daniel nodded and snapped his fingers. The shackles fell onto the floor in a loud noise. Castiel flinched at the noise, but then braced himself and picked Dean up and almost fell back.

"He's almost weightless," He became worried at the apparent sickly appearance of the teen. He then noticed something on his neck and shifted it, revealing the bruises Mara had made before.

"How could he do that?" Castiel choked and kissed the bruises with wet eyes. "Why do you have to suffer so much, Dean?"

"Cas…?" Dean's hoarse mutter made said teen's head snap up to meet with dead green eyes, but still beautiful.

Castiel choked out a shaky laugh and kissed Dean harshly. Dean froze but slowly responded, cupping Castiel's face. Castiel helped him on his feet and Dean looked at him with shock.

"What is it, Dean?"

"What? How?" Dean spluttered, but then coughed and grimaced in pain, brushing his fingers over the bruises. Castiel shushed him immediately, "Shh… you're injured, so don't talk, please."

"C-Cas…" Dean held his friend tightly, too shaken to cry. "Cas…"

"I'm here, Dean," He patted Dean's back. "I'm here. No one is going to separate us."

"I-I love you," Dean croaked.

"I love you, too," Castiel smiled. "Everything is going to be just fine, love," After they kill Mara for good, that is…

But for now he can just give himself a chance to indulge in Dean's warmth. "I missed you so much, Dean."


	22. Rant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter finally! but there is still the side-stories which i will post either tomorrow or very soon. so tune in and i really hope that you liked this fic.
> 
> love you all and see you again soon.

 

"We need to move," Daniel said after a minute and Dean looked at Daniel with shock and guilt.

"Daniel… you're alive?" He gasped and clung to the arm Daniel offered him, still too weak to walk by himself.

"Not entirely, Dean. I'm so sorry," Daniel muttered, "I didn't know about the fusion's real backlash."

"T'wasn't your fault," Dean shook his head. "If only I didn't agree… it's my entire fault, I killed you two, I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, Dean!" Daniel growled and pulled Dean so they could get away from the place. "You're just a fledgling and you were already burdened by world-changing decisions, and I'm not even mentioning the fact that you did it without all the facts in your hands. So it  **wasn't**  your fault, do you understand?"

Dean nodded, licking his lips and debating whether to accept Daniel's words or not. His ripped apart heart didn't know what to trust and what to not take to heart.

He jumped when Castiel placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can trust us, Dean. We love you and I myself never thought it was your fault. It was those angels who came after us first, anyway."

Dean let himself relax and smile at Castiel. "Thanks, Cas."

"Anytime, Love," Castiel cupped his face and kissed him tenderly.

Daniel smiled at the scene, his heart aching when he thought of his dear Castiel, who was waiting for him. He coaxed the teens to move, "Come on, let's go so you can make out as long as you want outside of Dean's body."

Both teens blushed and followed the archangel, smiling to each other goofily.

* * *

They made it to the other side of the hall and stood before two giant black doors. Daniel turned to them, "It's the exit from this part of Dean's soul. I have no idea what lies beyond those doors, so be careful."

"Aren't we always?" Dean grumbled, already becoming gloomy. "Just don't be scared of what else my 'soul' has to offer."

"Dean," Castiel warned him and the teen scoffed. "It's not you we are cautious-"

"It's just that stupid fusion."

"Mara, Dean. It's a demon called Mara," Castiel sighed and Dean looked even more annoyed.

"Great, I had an angel,  _now_  I have a demon. So, what? I'm a demon-angel hybrid now? I hate being a vessel for those sons of the bitches all the time. No offence, Daniel."

The archangel eyed him. "None taken, human."

Dean huffed and Daniel turned to push the big doors open. Dean and Castiel shielded their eyes from the intense light pouring from the exit and Daniel pulled them into the doors.

* * *

Dean was in a very bad mood. First of all, he loses all of his memories, then an angel bitch tries to kill his family,  _then_ , it's being discovered that he's a walking ticking-time bomb on a short-leash. Now, he's being locked in his  _own_  body because of a freakish demon wanting to use his body for the  _exact_  reason he wanted Cas to kill him. Could his life get any worse?

Apparently yes.

Because that  _exact_  freakish demon was standing in front of them with his  _freakish_  smirk and  _freakish_  appearance. He means,  _come on_ , he know he looks horrible now, but you don't have to upgrade that ugliness to a whole new level! Oh, right, the demon was in the middle of saying something.

"-So hand Dean to me. I'm the only one capable of using his status to it's fullest-"

Dean was tuning him out again, annoyed by the cliché way the bad people talks. Doesn't anybody learn? Talking too much will lead to your downfall and Dean really wanted to gain control of his body again and be with Cas for once without being attacked or something.

After another minute he grew more irritated and had done the stupidest thing a person can do – he started shouting at the demon.

" ** _Will you cut it out?!_** " His shout had shocked the demon and the duo besides him into silence. But he wasn't finished. Oh no… he was only getting started. "I had it  **enough**  with you sons of the bitches trying to take over my body! What's so great about it anyway? Just get out of my body and get lost, or better yet,  **die**! I don't want to listen to another stupid word you say, because they're the most clichéd  _and_  predictable words you can come up with. I hate feeling like the damsel in distress here and do you want to know why I hate fairy tales? Because I  _hate_  fairy tales; it's like, 'oh, my prince, save me!' oh shut up!"

He kept ranting on and on, taking out all his frustrations he didn't know he kept inside of him for weeks and months. Also he didn't know that by taking out all his frustrations at the demon, he was coming to terms with himself, and therefore weakening Mara's hold on him.

"You want to fuck up with my family?!  ** _Again?!_**  Because I  **had**  it with angels and demons trying to ruin all that I have left. If it wasn't for you, all those people wouldn't have gotten killed. If only you would have died when I died, but  _no_ , you have to be like a cockroach and annoy the hell outta me. I'm human, for god's sake! Why should I care if the world ends tomorrow because I wanted to sleep?!

 **Just die** ,  **MARA**!"

With this, he unleashed his restricted angel blood at the demon subconsciously, shattering Mara's existence in an instant.

Mara was a formidable demon, but he had one weakness – the vessel rebelling against him, turning the darkness in their hearts to their strongest point and sending him flying out of their bodies. Only Dean had the angel blood, so he had erased him from existence altogether as a plus.

Dean panted, already feeling better and glanced at the shocked faces of Castiel and Daniel. "What?" He demanded.

"Did you just… rant a demon to death?" Castiel said in disbelief and awe.

Daniel stifled a laugh. "Who would have thought? The righteous man ranting a demon to death?"

Dean looked at them, baffled. "What do you mean?"

"Dean, look," Castiel pointed at the place Mara used to stand only several moments ago.

Dean looked, his eyes growing wide, "Where is he?!" He blanched and glared at the laughing duo, "What are you two laughing about?! This is a serious problem! We need to kill him before he tries to use me again for another bom- WHY ARE YOU GUYS LAUGHING?!" He shouted at the duo, who were rolling on the floor screaming from laughter.

"D-Dean, you j-just k-killed Mara," Castiel wiped a tear from his eye, still struggling not to look at Dean in fear of laughing again. "W-we won!"

"We did?" His eye twitched.

Castiel nodded, covering his mouth to stifle his giggles. Dean frowned at him and crouched by him, "You're mean."

"I'm not!" Castiel croaked out before hugging him tightly, tears falling from his eyes. "It's just… it's finally over, Dean."

Dean sighed and hugged him back, pressing a kiss to his dark hair, "Yeah… it's finally over, Cas."

"But it's still not the time to celebrate, kids," They turned to see Daniel composing himself.

"What's  _still_  wrong?"

"You're  _still_  locked in your body and we need to get Michael's and my graces out of your body to prevent any future fusions completely."

"Okay, what should we do then?" The couple nodded and drew back from each other, but still held hands.

"We need to fill Dean's body with his soul, but first I'm going to call Michael and get finally free." Daniel opened his mouth and a white noise came out of his mouth, surprisingly not causing the teens to go deaf.

"Daniel!" Michael appeared and threw himself into Daniel's arms. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, brother," Daniel smiled and patted the archangel's hair. "It's finally time to reunite with Castiel."

"Really?" Michael perked up. "We can finally be with him?"

"Yes…"

Michael grinned happily and they both started to glow.

"Wait!" Castiel stood up. "What about us? How do we bring Dean's soul out of the cage? How do I get out?"

"You know the answers," Daniel smiled and the angels dissipated into particles of light.

Castiel pulled on his hair, "I really hate it when they do that!"

"Do what?"

"Go on to the other side without helping us!" Castiel groaned in frustration and Dean stifled a chuckle.

"Well… they did save me… and you," Dean smiled and pecked him on the lips. "Now, shall we go home?"

Castiel nodded and Dean smirked, "Great, now here's the plan…"

* * *

"Come on, Cas… come on…" Sam prayed while he and Gabriel sat by the glowing teens, both motionless. "Please come back safe with Dean…"

"It'll be alright, moose," Gabriel reassured him.

"How do you know?" Sam accused him. "We know nothing of what's going on in Dean's head. And we don't know how to save Dean from that fusion."

"We just how to believe in Castiel and Dean-o. They've been through many things and they pulled through by being with each other. They can pull through this one as well."

Sam wanted to continue arguing but Castiel's sudden drawn breath made him look at him and smile broadly, "CAS!" He jumped at him and glomped him.

Castiel smiled and patted his head, "How are you doing, Sammy?"

Sam nodded. "I'm fine, but what about Dean? Please tell me you'd saved him."

"Actually," Castiel chuckled. "You could say that he had saved himself."

"Then why doesn't he wake up?" Gabriel asked.

They expected Castiel to turn solemn, but were taken aback when the teen suddenly turned bright red. "U-um… it's because w-we still need to do  _one more thing_ …"

Sam narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "And that is…?"

"Something I prefer to do on my own. So if you please…" His blush darkened. "Can you please leave us alone?"

Sam and Gabriel exchanged amused looks but nodded and the angel zapped them away.

Castiel sighed in relief and turned to Dean, who was still in his arms and gulped.

"Why do I have to be the one to do this?" He whined, but when he didn't receive any response from Dean, he sighed.

"Well… here goes nothing…"

He took a deep breathe and opened his mouth-

' _Hey Jude…_

_Don't make it bad…_

_Take a sad song, and make it better…_

_Remember to let her into your heart…_

_Then you can start on making it better…_ '

He finished singing the song and opened his eyes, his face in deep red. He huffed, "You better not make me do this again… you assbutt."

He looked at Dean's peaceful face and smiled softly, bending down to kiss Dean's lips. An amused hum made him snap his eyes open and stare into bright green eyes.

"Nice wakeup call," Dean smiled sleepily. "Maybe you should do it more."

"Dean?"

"And just to make it clear, I'm  **not**  a damsel in distress who needs to be kissed by her prince to wake up! T'was just a coincidence I woke up by that," Dean grumbled.

"Dean!" Castiel choked and tackled him to the ground. Dean yelped and cried, "W-wait! I give up! Mercy on me, I'm injured!"

"Dean!" Castiel cried with happiness and sobbed uncontrollably into his shirt, wetting it.

Dean went slack and brought his hand up to pat Castiel's hair, his face turning serious.

"Don't worry, Cas, it's all over now…" He muttered, finality in his voice. "I'm not leaving you alone,  _ever_."

"I'm going to hold you on that," Castiel croaked. "I'll kill you if you dare to leave me like that again."

Dean smiled and embraced Castiel tightly. " _Never…_ "

* * *

It had been two months since Dean's body had finally calmed down and no signs of any bombs were on sight. Dean and Castiel let themselves finally relax and escape for a weekend in the woods for a release.

When Dean and Castiel had found Sam and Gabriel, the pre-teen tackled his brother to the ground, sobbing and laughing with happiness. Dean grumbled that everyone is using him as a bed today, but he said it affectionately and hugged Sam back.

When they had returned home, Chuck and the Singers were there with Jess standing with fuming faces. The trio was committed to rants on how irresponsible they were and how they could have gotten killed.

The trio just sat there and listened to them with big smiles on their faces. When the adults finished ranting, they just stood up and hugged them tightly.

"Ya idjits just don't know when t' quit, do ya?" Bobby said with wet eyes and he pulled his baseball-hat down to hide his tears. Dean and Sam smiled and hugged him. "Don't worry, Bobby. No more whacking an angel, okay?"

"Y'better, damn idjits…"

Karen smiled with tears as well and swept the three men into her arms, "I'm so glad you came back, my strong sons."

Sam and Dean choked on tears, not used to being called 'son'. "Yeah, ma'am…"

"Can you do me a favor and call me mother?" Karen said and the brothers looked at her with awe.

"Y-you mean it?" Dean gasped.

Karen nodded. "I wanted to adopt you two for so long, but you never seemed to let me. So now I have to ask – can I be your mother?"

The brothers looked at each other and nodded shakily. "Sure… mom…"

Karen let out a happy cry and embraced her little men. "I love you so much, my brave children."

"We love you too, Mom…" They sobbed into her dress.

Bobby swept the three of them into his big arms. "And what about grumpy ol' me?"

"You're already like a father to us, sir," Dean sheepishly said and Bobby smiled.

"Then I'll be happy to be ya dad, if y'want."

"Of course, Dad," They croaked.

Chuck and Castiel looked at the scene with happy faces and snuggled closer to each other, already knowing how happy they're to be with each other again.

Jess stood at the side, feeling happy but a bit out of place until Sam looked at her and beamed brightly, motioning her to join them. She smiled and joined the group hug.

"Welcome to the family, Jess," Dean laughed and she couldn't help but laugh as well.

A week later, Gabriel waved them goodbye and flew back to heaven to check how things are, but promised to come and pay a visit here and there when he saw Sam's puppy eyes.

Now, Dean and Castiel snuggled to each other in their bed at the cabin Bobby had made his friend, Rufus, lend to them. "Just to stay safe," the Singers said when Dean pulled out of the driveway.

"Dean?" Castiel murmured in the silence.

"Hmm?" Dean shifted so he can face his friend.

"I love you… thank you so much for coming back to me…"

"I love you too, Cas," Dean blushed. "And there's no way I would be able to stay away… whoa, that's cheesy."

"I don't care, you assbutt."

"Would you care if I do whatever I want with you?" Dean smirked and brushed his thumb over Castiel's lips.

Said teen blushed. "Not really…"

"Good, because I really want to savor everything," Dean smiled warmly and pressed his lips to Castiel's.

Me too, Castiel thought as they kissed. Every time we met as reincarnations, there was something that kept us apart, but I'm not going to let anyone take you away from me this time,  _ever again_.


End file.
